


Just Fine

by fireworksinthenight



Series: Just Fine [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: 2k12/2k12 AU Crossover, Angst, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Seven Turtles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-07-25 04:02:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 57,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16189685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireworksinthenight/pseuds/fireworksinthenight
Summary: When Leonardo sets foot in a universe where he doesn't exist, he just wants to go home. However, what damage will his mere presence cause?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> 2012 universe mixed up with an alternate universe. I do not own the turtles.

It was a raining night in New York City. Citizens had hurried home and the streets were deserted.

Leonardo grimaced. He was alone in a dark alleyway. It shouldn't have been a reason to worry about – he was a ninja, he lived in the shadows. Except he was supposed to be at the lair right now. Comfortably seated on the couch. Watching an episode of his favorite cartoon. At least, he had been there one minute ago. Then he had been hit by a light beam and next thing he knew, he was getting soaking wet in the streets.

 _Do I have to thank Donnie for this?_ The blue-clad turtle thought glumly. _Or is it Mikey who messed up with one of his experiments? Again?_

He knew that part of the city. _I am at least half an hour away from the lair._ He hadn't his T-phone with him, so he couldn't contact his brothers. _I will have to go home by foot. I better hurry before they start worrying too much._ He didn't know if he should be more annoyed by the fact he had just been teleported without his consent or by the fact he was going to miss the end of his beloved show.

 _I'll go for both_ , he thought. With a sigh, he set out to walk. He couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

 _My katana_ , he realized with a pang. _They are still in the lair._ Even if he didn't need the weapons to defend himself, he felt naked without them. _It's okay. I didn't intend to start a fight anyway. And if that should happen, I would find something else to fight with._ After all, his sensei had taught him that anything could be a weapon.

Leonardo reached the nearest fire escape and took to the roofs.

He was halfway through his way home when he spotted shadows on the street below. He was curious to see who was wandering the city despite the foul weather, so he approached the edge with ninja stealth and watched.

"Dude, that was awesome! You sure know how to skateboard!" One of the shadows exclaimed.

"I know, right? The night was perfect! No humans at all!" The other shadow answered.

Leonardo froze in disbelief. He knew those voices, especially the second one. _What is he doing here?_ He wondered. _Only one way to know._ He jumped and landed in front of the two shadows. Both of them jumped with surprise.

"Wow, dude! Don't startle me like that!" A gecko mutant exclaimed. "Wait… are you a turtle too?"

Leonardo didn't pay him any attention and turned to the other person, a mutant turtle much like himself.

"Mikey, what are you doing here?"

The turtle looked at him with bemused eyes.

"You really are a turtle! That's awesome!" He then narrowed his eyes and took a suspicious tone. "Wait a second. How do you even know my name? And who are you?"


	2. Wrong World

Leonardo blinked. Why would his brother pretend not to know him? Was it a kind of prank? _Mikey usually has a better taste when it comes to pranks,_ the blue-clad turtle thought annoyed. He was already recovering from his surprise and searching for a suitable explanation. He registered absent-mindedly Michelangelo's appearance. His brother looked the same as he always did. His freckled face wore an orange mask with short tails. At least, Leonardo supposed it was orange. He couldn't be certain of it. The only light was coming from the street lamps meters away from the small group, and it was dimmed by the heavy rain. Michelangelo had his nunchuks at his sides and he was carrying a skateboard. _It's a new one._ He looked into his brother's eyes, trying to decipher their expression. Mikey looked serious, which was unusual as far as Leonardo was concerned. _He's wary of me_ , the blue-clad turtle realized. _And not in the way he is when he expects me to disapprove of something he has done._

Leonardo swallowed. Michelangelo didn't fake that kind of expression. _Does he really not know who I am?_ His mind was whirling with possibilities.

Michelangelo tilted his head, exchanging his wary expression for a concerned one. His hands hadn't moved to grab his weapons, so he didn't consider the other turtle as a threat. Somehow, it annoyed Leonardo. The orange-clad turtle spoke again.

"Are you alright? Have you just been mutated? It can be disorienting at first, but you get used to it. If you need a place to go, we have the perfect hideout for you. My friend Mondo here lives there and there are plenty of other mutants like us…"

Leonardo shook his head. He had no idea what was going on here, or what the best course of action was, but he was used to keeping his doubts to himself and taking decisions based as much on his intuition as on tangible facts. And his intuition told him that the turtle in front of him wasn't trying to trick him. He had to gather more information about this strange situation.

"This…hideout. Do you live there too?" Leonardo asked in a non-committal tone.

Michelangelo offered him a wide smile, and he couldn't help but feel comforted by the familiarity of it.

"Oh no! I live in another place, in the sew…" The orange-clad turtle suddenly closed his mouth with a sheepish expression. "Uh… Somewhere else."

Leonardo looked at him like it was the most interesting thing he had ever heard, and Michelangelo went on, basking in the attention.

"I already have a family, you see. I have been in New York City since I was a baby. I live in that really cool place with my father and my two brothers, but it is totally secret, so I can't tell you where it is."

Leonardo was speechless. _Did he just say two brothers? Like in, two brothers and not three?_ It took all his self-control to avoid panicking.

Michelangelo went on.

"So what do you say? I was going to come with Mondo anyway."

The gecko nodded happily at that.

"Yes, Mikey and I are best pals. We hang out together all the time!"

Leonardo took a deep breath. He had to be sure.

"What are your brothers' names? If it isn't a secret, of course."

"No it's not!" Michelangelo chirped happily. "They are called Donatello and Raphael, but I call them Donnie and Raph."

The blue-clad turtle felt dizzy. His distress must have shown, because Michelangelo took his arm to support him.

"Wow, take it easy! Do you need to sit down?"

"No," Leonardo stammered. "I am fine. I am just…" _Further away from home than I ever thought I would be._ He watched the stranger who looked exactly like his own brother, and went on. "Hungry. I haven't eaten in hours." It wasn't true, but Michelangelo didn't seem to notice it.

"Dude, you should have told it right away! I have exactly what you need."

A few minutes later, the three mutants were sharing a pepperoni pizza that Michelangelo had promptly ordered. To Leonardo's relief, he had even suggested that they leave the streets and retreat to the relative safety of the rooftops. The blue-clad turtle felt a little better with familiar food in his hands, and he was already planning how to go home.

 _I have to understand what happened to me,_ he mused. _All I remember is being hit by a light beam. I will need the help of a scientific genius. If the Donnie of this world is anything like mine, he's just the turtle I need._ He spared a glance at Michelangelo at his side. The shorter turtle had his mouth full of pizza. _In the meantime, I will try to learn as much about this world as I can._

Michelangelo swallowed his mouthful and went back to talking.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Leonardo nodded and the shorter turtle went on.

"That's good. And now…" Michelangelo watched the other turtle with an intense gaze and Leonardo felt uneasy. "I want to know everything about you! Where are you from? How did you know my name? Which makes me think that I don't even know yours! What's your name?"

"My name is Leonardo. My family calls me Leo," the blue-clad turtle answered swiftly while Michelangelo caught his breath.

"Leo it is, then!" Michelangelo smiled. "Do you have a family too, Leo?"

Leonardo closed his eyes for a second. It felt weird to hear Michelangelo say these words. Weird and inappropriate.

"Yes. Yes I do. Though I am… really far away from them right now."

"I'm sorry for you, dude! Did you get lost?"

Leonardo repressed a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, I absolutely did." He sighed. "I could use your brother's help with that, by the way. Donnie. He's a genius, right?"

Michelangelo looked astounded.

"Yes, he is! How do you even know that?"

"I'll explain later. Do you think I could meet him?"

Michelangelo tilted his head.

"I don't see why not. I will just have to convince him to go out for once."

Leonardo could tell Michelangelo's curiosity was far from being satisfied. However, he wasn't ready to tell his tale. _Later, I will tell him that in my world, I'm his brother too._ For now, he needed a place to stay.

"What is this hideout you've been talking about?"

It was Mondo who answered.

"It's a place for all mutants to stay. You are free to do almost anything you want, except getting involved with humans." The gecko caught a passing fly with his tongue. "It's my home."

"Let's head there, then," Leonardo said. He looked at Michelangelo. "Are you coming with us?"

Michelangelo nodded happily.

"Of course!"

Leonardo hesitated. It wasn't his place to ask, but he couldn't help himself.

"Aren't your brothers going to worry about you?"

The orange-clad turtle shook his head.

"Only if I'm not home by sunrise."

The three mutants began their trip to the mysterious hideout. Leonardo was on edge. Mondo wasn't exactly stealthy on his best days and Michelangelo wasn't trying to be. The blue-clad turtle had to repress his desire to order them to be quiet.

 _It's not my world,_ he kept repeating himself. _I know nothing about it. Michelangelo looks happy enough, obviously he can take care of himself. It's not my world…_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a brawl. The three mutants looked eagerly over the edge to see what was happening. A group of Purple Dragons were fighting two vigilantes. Leonardo had a bad feeling about them. By the way they were moving, both seemed to be skating on rollerblades. And was it a hockey stick that he discerned in the hands of one of them? And…

"Hey Leo!" Michelangelo exclaimed. "Do you want to meet my brother Raph?"

The short turtle took his nunchuks and jumped with a cry to join the fight. Mondo laughed nervously and jumped to his side.

 _And now I really miss my katana,_ Leonardo thought. He scanned the area. Nothing. _At least those Purple Dragons don't have guns._ With a sigh, he jumped over the edge.

The blue-clad turtle didn't need to worry. When they saw that the vigilantes had reinforcements, the Purple Dragons ran away. Michelangelo put his nunchuks back on his sides with a disappointed sigh. Mondo Gecko stopped hiding behind his skateboard. One of the vigilantes, obviously a human, glared at the newcomers.

"Come on, Mikey. You scared them! Do you know how difficult it was to find Purple Dragons by this weather?"

"Yeah, Mikey. Thanks for spoiling our fun!" Another voice added, half-serious and half-joking. It belonged to a mutant turtle armed with sai.

"Sorry, Casey, Raph. Not my fault if I look so threatening," Michelangelo smiled at them both.

Raphael seemed to register Leonardo's presence.

"Did you find another mutant, Mikey?" The red-clad turtle asked with both curiosity and suspicion. He moved forward, sai still at the ready.

Leonardo was watching him quietly from the shadows. This Raphael had more scars than his own brother and his bandana covered his skull. Beyond that, he looked painstakingly familiar.

"His name is Leo," Michelangelo answered. "He's a turtle just like us!"

"Not just like us, Mikey," Raphael answered smugly, displaying his weapons with pride. "We are not only mutant turtles, we are trained warriors too!"

 _If only you knew_ , Leonardo thought.

"Are you shy or something? Show yourself!" Raphael commanded.

Leonardo took a deep breath. Until then, the light had been too dim to allow the others to properly see him. Michelangelo and Mondo had been able to say he was a turtle, but that was it. Now this street was more efficiently lit and he felt uneasy. _Come on, it's just Mikey and Raph. And Casey. And Mondo._

Leonardo closed his eyes for one brief second before entering the light. Everyone fell silent. He knew it was probably a shock for them. After all, he looked a lot like Raphael and Michelangelo. Granted, his skin color was slightly different, he was slightly taller and his eyes were a deep blue. But anyone could see the family resemblance, which was enhanced by their similar outfit with wrappings around their ankles and wrists and knee- and elbow-pads. He even had a mask too.

"I told you he was just like us," Michelangelo finally murmured.


	3. Welcome?

Leonardo felt exposed. He had to do something to end this embarrassing situation. He racked his brains to find something striking to say.

"Uh… hello?"

It didn't seem to convince Raphael. The red-clad turtle gritted his teeth.

"What is this? Some trickery from Stockman? Who are you?"

Leonardo winced. The anger and outrage he could see in Raphael's eyes hurt. His brother never looked at him that way – or more precisely, he did sometimes, but there was always a tiny speck of affection and respect behind the anger. No such things in this Raphael's eyes, and Leonardo felt like an unwelcomed stranger.

"No! I'm…I'm…" The blue-clad turtle stammered. _Your brother. Your fourth brother. We fought side by side before you even knew Casey existed. At least in my world._

"What's wrong with you, Raph?" Michelangelo placed himself between his angry brother and Leonardo. "You're scaring him!"

Leonardo felt offended at this statement. _I_ _'_ _m not scared. At least not by Raph. Even if he's not my Raphael, he's still a Raphael… right?_

The blue-clad turtle gently pushed Michelangelo aside and talked firmly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm neither an enemy nor…trickery. As I already told Mikey…" Leonardo noticed that Raphael looked even more irritated at hearing his brother's nickname from Leonardo's mouth. _Well, Mikey didn't seem to mind, so I don't see why I shouldn't._ "…my name is Leonardo, or Leo, and I am kind of lost at the moment. I could really use Donnie's help…"

He realized his mistake too late. Raphael moved forward, pointing his sai at his face.

"How do you know about Donnie if you've just arrived? Did Stockman tell you about him? About us?"

Michelangelo interfered again.

"Raph, I want to hear his story as well, but you threatening him won't help a bit! Where are your manners, bro? And for the record, he didn't try to attack me or you like Stockman's creatures always do, so I don't think he's one of them."

Raphael seemed to ponder that and moved back, still wary but unwilling to launch an attack yet. Leonardo inwardly sighed with relief.

"Fine, I will let you explain yourself," Raphael growled. "But you better be convincing."

"Alright," Leonardo answered. _It's probably the best I will obtain from him,_ he thought. "Maybe we could go somewhere more sheltered? I'm getting sick of this weather."

His suggestion was met with nods of approval from the others, except Raphael who still watched him suspiciously.

A phone biped and everyone looked at Casey, who frowned and picked it up.

"It's my dad. He's wondering why I'm not in my bed…He wasn't supposed to be home tonight," the teenager sighed. "I'm in trouble."

Raphael put his arm around Casey's shoulders.

"Tell me about overprotective dads," he mumbled. "You better come home, then."

Mondo fidgeted.

"I should go home too, morning will be here soon."

The gecko mutant looked at Michelangelo with a worried expression.

"Are you going to be alright, pal?"

Michelangelo smiled at him.

"Of course, don't worry! And I will tell you everything later!"

Casey and Mondo said their goodbyes and left, leaving the three turtles alone. Leonardo cleared his throat and carefully began to spoke.

"Where I come from, I live in the sewers. I suggest we take shelter here."

Raphael frowned.

"In the sewers, uh? What a coincidence," he grumbled. "Fine, lead the way."

They reached the nearest manhole. Michelangelo lifted it and the three of them disappeared into the shadows of New York City sewer system.

Leonardo was at a loss. So far, it wasn't going so well. Raphael hadn't uttered a single word since they had left the streets and Michelangelo seemed to follow his example. Maybe Raphael's distrust was contagious, or maybe the orange-clad turtle didn't want to add fuel to the fire. _So very considerate of Mikey,_ the blue-clad turtle thought wryly. _Though I would prefer to hear him joke and tease_. Leonardo was walking at the front. He was conscious of the looks the other turtles were sending in his direction. He wondered what his next move should be. Should he lead them directly to the lair? In the hypothesis that their lair was located at the same place as his, of course. _No, it would only increase Raph's mistrust. Where, then?_

Leonardo was feeling tired and worried, both about his current predicament and about his own brothers. _I hope they're doing OK. They're probably searching the city for me right now._ His heart tore at the thought that no matter how thoroughly they searched, they wouldn't find him.

They were passing across a room with a pool of sewer water in its center. Leonardo abruptly decided that this place would do as good as another and pivoted to face the two other turtles. In one gracious move, he sat cross-legged. The familiar position helped him relax a bit. Michelangelo and Raphael hesitated to join him. Finally, Michelangelo shrugged and sat in front of him. Raphael followed with great reluctance.

Leonardo took a deep breath. _It's now or never._

"I know you have a lot of questions. I will try to answer them as best I can."

Michelangelo bounced like he always did when he expected a good story.

"How did you know my name when we first met?"

Leonardo smiled at him.

"That's because I know you…sort of." He was finding it difficult to find the right words. "I told you I was lost. I am from a different world, an alternative dimension."

He watched the two turtles in front of him with apprehension. _There, I've said it._ Michelangelo's face was lighted with excitement. Raphael's expression was one of complete disbelief. The orange-clad turtle was the first to speak.

"It's amazing! It's just like one of my comic books!"

Raphael came back to his senses.

"Nonsense. You're totally crazy."

Leonardo shook his head.

"I'm not. I know it is hard to believe…"

"Not at all!" Michelangelo exclaimed happily. "It's just that Raph here has no imagination whatsoever."

Raphael frowned at him and smacked the back of his head. Michelangelo let out an indignant squawk and stuck his tongue out at him.

Leonardo watched the scene with a deep longing for home.

"I was hit by a light beam and transported here. I don't know how it happened, that's why I need your brother's help to go home."

Raphael was watching him quietly.

"Right…I still don't believe you."

Leonardo shrugged.

Michelangelo smiled reassuringly at the blue-clad turtle.

"Well I do! And I'm sure that Donnie will, too. He's going to love this! He has a knack for solving mysteries like this one."

Almost as if it was an afterthought, the orange-clad turtle added.

"And what is our relationship in your world? I need to know!"

"You…" Leonardo's throat was suddenly dry. "You and Raph and Donnie, you're my brothers."

Michelangelo nodded at him as if it made perfect sense that a total stranger would pretend to be his brother, and launched himself at him.

"That's amazing! I've always wanted to have a third brother!"

Raphael had been speechless at first, but now he was finding his voice back. He roared.

"What? The nerve… You pretend to be my brother? I don't care that you vaguely look like us, you're no brother to me!"

The words stung. Leonardo fought to keep his composure. Michelangelo's arms around his neck helped a lot.

"I don't pretend to be _your_ brother," he managed to answer. "I told you, I'm from an alternate universe!"

"And I told _you_ that I didn't believe it!"

Raphael stood and pulled Michelangelo off Leonardo.

"You're delusional. I'm out of here, and don't try to follow me!"

He addressed his orange-clad brother.

"You're coming with me. What came over you, to launch yourself at him like that? He's a stranger! Remember what Sensei told us about not _talking_ to strangers? Well it applies to not _hugging_ strangers too!"

Michelangelo tried to protest, but Raphael was already dragging him away. The orange-clad turtle sent an apologetic look to Leonardo.

A few seconds later, the blue-clad turtle was alone. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Going home was going to be even more difficult than he had thought.


	4. Curiosity

Leonardo was still sitting cross-legged. He hadn't moved since Raphael and Michelangelo had left. He was attempting to meditate to calm his troubled spirit. If Michelangelo had been ready to accept his tale, Raphael had bluntly disregarded it. It hurt more than Leonardo was ready to admit, considering they weren't really his brothers.

He didn't know how much time had passed. An hour, maybe two? He was beginning to feel stiff. _I should move. I've already stayed here longer than I should have,_ Leonardo thought.

He suddenly became aware of a presence in the shadows. He kept his eyes closed and focused on it. It was quiet, obviously trying to stay hidden, but Leonardo's senses were those of a trained and very skilled ninja and he was paying close attention to his surroundings right now. The blue-clad ninja was perplexed. Something was familiar about it, he knew it. He opened his eyes and searched the shadows. There it was, a tall figure with a taller object in his hands. Leonardo felt his heart jump.

"Hi, Donnie," he simply said.

The figure approached cautiously and stopped a few steps from him.

"Hi. So you really are a mutant turtle," Donatello stated. I must stay I was skeptical when Mikey told me about you. He's not always a reliable witness."

Donatello seemed to reach a decision and sat in front of Leonardo, his bo staff resting in his lap. Leonardo watched him with interest. _He looks just like my Donnie, except he wears this strange jacket with all these pockets._ The blue-clad turtle tried not to think about the probably dangerous and potentially explosive devices Donatello was hiding in these pockets.

Donatello tilted his head and spoke again.

"But when Raph called you a crazy lunatic, I knew there was a worthy story behind it. He seemed really shaken – in an angry kind of way- and it takes a lot to shake Raph."

Leonardo shrugged.

"He didn't look very happy to meet me, that's for sure."

Donatello joined his hands and leaned forward.

"Are you really from an alternate universe?"

"Yes. Do you believe it?"

"I don't know yet. It's a possibility. Another would be that you're lying since the beginning and you're one of Stockman's minions."

Leonardo let out an irritated breath.

"Really, this Stockman thing again? What about the guy? In my world, he's mainly a loser."

"In this world, he's a powerful enemy," Donatello retorted.

Leonardo sighed.

"I won't argue with you about it, you're the permanent resident of this world. And you don't really think that I'm in league with him anyway."

Donatello looked interested.

"Really? How can you tell?"

Leonardo smiled at him.

"You came to see me alone."

"Maybe I'm just curious. Maybe my brothers are right behind me."

"You came alone," Leonardo repeated. He was certain of it. "Mikey could have done the same – he trusts me. Raph could have too, safe in his belief that he could take me down anytime. But you would be more careful."

Donatello nodded appreciatively.

"Indeed, I would."

He tapped his chin with his middle finger.

"Mikey is too trustworthy for his own good, and Raph can be really arrogant. But he could probably take you down. He's a very fierce warrior."

 _I know he is_ , Leonardo thought with pride. He answered matter-of-factly.

"If I was an enemy, underestimating me could be a deadly mistake."

"But you're not, we already settled that."

"It doesn't explain how you could be so sure of it."

Donatello suddenly grinned at him.

"I keep an eye on Stockman's activities. There was no mention of a new mutant turtle in his files. That and you didn't try to attack my brothers when you first saw them. Nor me when you spotted me in the shadows – nice going, by the way. I was supposed to be stealthy."

Leonardo smiled back at him.

"You were."

Donatello let out a small laugh.

"Thanks for sparing my feelings." He thought for a moment. "Are you a ninja too? It would make sense, if you really are… I mean…" For the first time since he had sat down, Donatello seemed hesitant.

"Your brother in my universe?" Leonardo completed the sentence for him. He then nodded. "Yes, I am."

"A ninja without weapons," Donatello mused.

Leonardo couldn't help but feel ashamed at the statement. _You don't need to rub it in._ He didn't answer and chose to change the topic.

"So, can you help me go home?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how you got here in the first place."

"I'm afraid I can't really help you with that. I was hit by a light beam. One second I was…relaxing at my home and the next I was in your world."

Donatello was watching him with interest.

"What else can you tell me? Did it hurt? What color was the light beam? What was his diameter? What device produced it?"

"Uh… no, white, no idea and no idea," Leonardo answered. He wished he was able to describe his experience more precisely.

The purple-clad turtle shook his head.

"That's not very helpful," he mused. "I'll need to think about what to do."

He looked intensely at Leonardo, and the blue-clad turtle felt his anxiety rise.

"And I would like to make some tests to ensure that the trip here didn't…hmm… _damage_ anything inside your body," Donatello added in a clinical tone.

 _Wonderful_ , Leonardo thought.

"Okay," he answered uneasily.

"I'll need my equipment. Let's head back to the lair."

"Really? I don't think Raph will welcome my presence here." Leonardo tried to keep his tone unconcerned. His heart was filling with hope.

Donatello grinned.

"Oh, he won't. But Master Splinter talked to him about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer."

"You already talked to Master Splinter about bringing me home? Before you even met me?" Leonardo was impressed.

Donatello nodded. "If we really are your brothers in your world, that's the least we can do, right?"

He watched Leonardo with a serious expression.

"Not to mention that I enjoy a good scientific enigma as much as the next genius."

Leonardo's mouth was dry.

"And what did he say? Master Splinter, I mean?"

"He said that you would be my responsibility," Donatello answered. "So please, don't break anything."

Leonardo laughed nervously.

"I'll try not to."

He looked at the taller turtle.

"And thanks. For trusting me."

Donatello shrugged.

"Don't thank me yet. Raph will probably give you a hard time. And Mikey can be a little too much too handle. And don't forget me. From now on, you're my test subject number one."

Leonardo rolled his eyes and stood up, stretching his sore muscles. Donatello stood up too.

"You want to lead the way?" The purple-clad turtle asked in a neutral tone.

Leonardo smiled inwardly.

"You want to assess if I already know where the lair is."

Donatello smiled sheepishly.

"Consider it as our first experiment. After you," he offered, standing up and mimicking a bow.

 _What have I just gotten myself into?_ Leonardo wondered. He took a deep breath and began to walk.


	5. Guest

The lair turned out to be at the exact same place where it was in Leonardo's world. When they arrived in front of the turnstiles, Donatello muttered something and took notes in a notebook that he had extracted from one of the pockets of his jacket. Leonardo tried to look at what he was writing, but Donatello dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

During the walk, the blue-clad turtle had tried to figure out how the lair would be. He peered anxiously at the living room. There was a couch in front of an old TV. Both were different from those he knew, but they were at the exact same place. There was no _Space Heroes_ pinball machine. _Of course not,_ Leonardo thought with a lump in his throat. He was the one who had recognized the _Space Heroes_ logo on a pile of broken planks at the dump years ago. At the time, the machine had been in such a state that his brothers had made fun of him. Only a true fanboy could have identified a _Space Heroes_ pinball machine from the fragments, they had said. Leonardo had blushed in embarrassment and they had continued scavenging for other supplies. The blue-clad turtle smiled. He had learned later that his brothers had secretly gone back to retrieve the remnants. It had taken Donatello months to build it again, as a side project. Leonardo remembered the day when his brother had displayed the machine to him. He had been overjoyed. The four brothers had played for hours.

Leonardo came back to the present. The Donatello of this world was watching him with curiosity. The blue-clad turtle bit his lip and jumped the turnstiles.

"So you managed to convince both my brothers that you're telling the truth," a voice said from the dojo's door frame. "I still don't buy it."

Leonardo turned to face Raphael. The red-clad turtle seemed to have recovered from his earlier shock. He was leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed. His tone was clearly threatening, but he didn't make a move.

"You're lucky Donatello pleaded your case," Raphael added. "My sensei has allowed you to stay here. You better be careful though, because I will keep an eye on you."

Donatello shook his head.

"Where are your manners, Raph? You're supposed to welcome guests, not threaten them."

Raphael groaned.

"He doesn't deserve any better. And don't come and complain when he will betray us."

"I won't betray you," Leonardo answered defensively. He knew Raphael wouldn't be convinced, but he couldn't let him say something so blatantly untrue without at least trying to protest.

Raphael shrugged and Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Where is Mikey?" The purple-clad turtle said, obviously trying to change the subject.

"He went to retrieve the pizza he ordered to, I quote, celebrate the event," Raphael answered him with a disgusted tone.

Leonardo resisted the urge to clench his fists. Raphael's hostility was getting on his nerves.

"That's very thoughtful of him," Donatello retorted. He then turned towards Leonardo. "I would prefer to examine you now. Follow me."

Ignoring his red-clad brother, Donatello made for his lab. Leonardo followed him, eager not to stay alone with a fuming Raphael.

Donatello's lab was in a state of complete disorder, at least to Leonardo's eyes. The purple-clad turtle extracted a desk chair from the mess and motioned for Leonardo to sit down. The blue-clad turtle obeyed. He was feeling anxious, and it didn't help that Donatello was right now grasping a syringe.

"It is sterile, don't worry," Donatello told him, clearly amused.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but right now I find you more threatening than Raph," Leonardo half-joked to release his stress.

Donatello chuckled.

"Now stay still. I just want a sample of your blood."

Leonardo sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He didn't like needles.

To his credit, Donatello was quick and efficient. He put the blood sample in one of his machines, sat in front of his computer and began tapping on the keyboard.

Leonardo waited a few minutes before coughing to remind him of his presence.

Donatello started and looked at him with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I forgot you were still there. Hmm, this will take some time. Why don't you wait for Mikey in the living room? You could watch TV or play video games."

Leonardo blinked. _Looks like he doesn't want me in there,_ he thought with sadness. He reminded himself that his Donatello too could be a little abrupt when he was buried in an enthralling project, and he followed the suggestion.

Once settled on the couch, Leonardo found out that he didn't want to watch TV or play video games. Raphael was nowhere in sight. Fortunately for the blue-clad turtle, it wasn't long before Michelangelo arrived. The orange-clad turtle had a pile of pizza boxes in his left hand and dragged a plastic bag with his right. A quilt was slightly sticking out of it.

As soon as he noticed Leonardo's presence, Michelangelo beamed and threw up his hands.

"Leooo! I'm so glad you're here!"

He then looked sheepishly at the pizza boxes that his sudden move had sent flying in the air and jumped to retrieve them. To Leonardo's amused surprise, he actually managed to grab them and delicately placed them on the floor.

"Me too, Mikey," the blue-clad turtle smiled.

"I know we already ate pizza today, but it's my favorite dish. Do you mind?" Michelangelo asked anxiously.

"Not at all," Leonardo quickly reassured him.

The pizzas were delicious. Michelangelo switched the TV on and they ate them while looking at a ridiculously bright cartoon. Donatello joined them a while later, stating that the analysis wasn't complete and that he would have more information tomorrow. By unspoken agreement, the three turtles chatted lightly. Serious matters would wait until next day. Raphael didn't show up, but the pizza that Michelangelo brought to his doorstep disappeared mysteriously.

When they were done eating, Michelangelo offered to show Leonardo his temporary quarters, namely a storage room which offered little space. Ironically enough, it was Leonardo's room in his world, and he frowned at seeing it in such a messy state. It didn't go unnoticed by Michelangelo.

"I'm sorry that we can't offer you any better. We will move a few of these things tomorrow, but…"

Leonardo interrupted him.

"It's perfect. I am grateful, I really am. It's just that it has been a really long night, and…"

It was Michelangelo's turn to interrupt him.

"Of course! You must be exhausted. See you tomorrow, then."

The orange-clad turtle smiled widely at Leonardo and left him. The blue-clad turtle settled in the quilt that Michelangelo had brought and closed his eyes.

 _What a night_ , he repeated in his head. Despite his tiredness, he was having a hard time falling asleep. His thoughts kept bringing him back to his home, his true home. Did time pass the same way here and in his world? If so, he had been missing for hours now. His brothers were surely insanely worried.

It wasn't until Leonardo finally drifted into sleep that a last unsettling thought came to his mind. _Why didn't they introduce me to their Master Splinter?_


	6. Outsider

When Leonardo awoke on the next morning, he felt disoriented. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was, but when he did remember, the severity of his situation hit him with full force. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. _You have no reason to panic now_ , he told himself. _You're safe and Donnie agreed to help you. He's a genius, he will find a way to send you back to your world._

Leonardo struggled to get out of the quilt. He searched the room for a clock but found none. He stood up and stretched his muscles. Considering his situation, he had slept fairly well and felt ready to face this new day.

Leaving the room, Leonardo made for the kitchen. Michelangelo was inside, whistling and cooking what appeared to be tacos. When he heard Leonardo come in, he greeted him with a wide smile.

"Hi Leo! Are you well rested? I would think so, considering that you have been sleeping for more than ten hours."

Leonardo felt surprised. Ten hours, really? He usually didn't need more sleep than six or seven hours.

"Hi Mikey. Yes, I'm perfectly fine now. Your quilt was very comfy," he answered.

He didn't know what else to say and stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. He would have welcomed a breakfast, but he didn't dare to help himself. After all, he was only a guest in this lair. And Michelangelo seemed to be preparing lunch. Would he be expected to share it with him and his brothers? Would Raphael accept his presence?

Michelangelo noticed his hesitation and waved at the kitchen fridge and shelves.

"Feel free to take anything you want. My tacos won't be ready before another hour."

Leonardo smiled relieved and turned the kettle on. Michelangelo looked at him with curiosity.

"Do you drink coffee like Donnie?"

Leonardo shook his head.

"No, I prefer drinking tea," he answered while searching the shelves.

Michelangelo tilted his head.

"Really? Our tea is in here," he said, pointing a finger at a closet nearby. "It's more like Sensei's tea, in fact. He's the only one who drinks it. Don't worry, he won't mind," he quickly added when he saw Leonardo hesitate.

When Leonardo had drunk a full mug of tea and eaten a bowl of cereals, he felt ready to ask about Donatello's whereabouts. He wanted to know if the purple-clad turtle had made some progress and what the results of his analysis had brought.

"Where is Donnie? I would like to talk to him."

"You will have to wait, then," Michelangelo replied helpfully. "Right now, he's in the dojo training with Master Splinter."

Leonardo looked at him in surprise.

"Don't you train together?"

Michelangelo shrugged. He opened a drawer and grasped a kitchen knife. Looking at it closely, he frowned and put it back in the drawer before answering.

"Once a week. Otherwise we have one-on-one training with Master Splinter. I have already done mine today, and Raph's turn will be after lunch."

Leonardo blinked. _This is unexpected,_ he thought. He wanted to know more. He was about to ask Michelangelo about their training sessions when the orange-clad turtle sighed with irritation. He had taken every single knife in the drawer and dismissed them all.

"What's the matter?" Leonardo asked curiously.

"It looks like Raph forgot to sharpen the knives." Michelangelo answered. "It was supposed to be his turn. As Donnie had already forgotten last time, the blades are too dull to properly cut. It's no big deal for them, they rarely cook anyway," he added with slight exasperation.

"I'll sharpen them," Leonardo offered hopefully. He was happy to have the opportunity to help. He was feeling quite useless right now.

Michelangelo offered him a bright smile.

"Nice! I don't like that chore either."

Leonardo began his task. It wasn't a chore for him. He had always had an affinity for blades and had taken upon himself to sharpen the kitchen knives in his home. As his fingers set into motion, he went back to the conversation.

"Mikey? I don't want to be indiscreet, but why are you mostly training individually?"

Michelangelo had sat down at the table and was watching Leonardo with an expression close to fascination.

"Dude! That's like a knives' ballet! Have you been doing this your whole life?"

Without waiting for an answer, the orange-clad turtle went on.

"And no, it's not indiscreet. We used to train together all the time when we were younger, but when we grew up, it turned out that Raph was so much better than Donnie and I that these sessions were boring for him. Sensei agreed with him and began to give him private lessons. Of course, Donnie and I wanted to have private lessons too."

The orange-clad turtle took one of the knives Leonardo had just sharpened and began cutting the meat.

"It turned out that we progressed faster this way, so the arrangement became permanent. Sensei insisted on keeping a few shared sessions though, so we would know each other's moves."

He sighed.

"This week's session is tomorrow," he added with little enthusiasm.

It didn't escape Leonardo's notice.

"You don't seem to look forward to it," the blue-clad turtle said wryly.

Michelangelo smiled sheepishly.

"Nah, Raph is always so smug about his performance in those sessions. And he takes far too much pleasure in beating us. But at least I can beat Donnie!" He added with a grin.

"Yeah, keep insisting on that and I won't repair the TV remote next time you or Raph breaks it," a third voice rang out.

"Oops! Sorry, Donnie, I didn't mean it!" Michelangelo quickly added. He grinned at his purple-clad brother and busied himself with his cooking.

"Hi, Donnie," Leonardo greeted the taller turtle. "How was your training?"

"Tedious," Donatello answered. "I wanted to skip it to work on your case, Leo, but Master Splinter refused."

The purple-clad turtle shook his head.

"That's a pity. For all we know, time could be of the essence."

Donatello saw Leonardo's questioning look and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, I have the results of your blood analysis and they are good. Whatever sent you here didn't hurt you."

Leonardo sighed in relief.

"That's good news."

Donatello tilted his head.

"I must confess that I did a DNA test too, and you really are our brother. The human part of your DNA is undoubtedly from Splinter. I told Raph so."

Michelangelo exclaimed from the kitchen stove.

"That's why he was so mad this morning! Master Splinter had to send him away for a while. He's supposed to be scavenging in the sewers."

"Uh-huh, my bad," Donatello said. He went on, addressing Leonardo.

"I've had an idea to learn more about your mysterious light beam. Maybe there is residual energy at the place where you landed. We should go back there tonight. I could try to measure it."

Leonardo felt hopeful. It wasn't much, but it was the beginning of a plan.

"Thanks, Donnie. Your help means a lot to me," he said sincerely.

Donatello smiled at him, pleased with himself.

"No problem. Don't forget, I'm doing it for myself as much as I'm doing it for you."

Leonardo chuckled.

"Duly noted. I'm grateful nonetheless."

At this instant, they heard a phone beep. Donatello plunged his right hand in one of the pockets of his jacket and read something on the screen.

"It's from Raph. He says he found something interesting in the sewers," the purple-clad turtle said. "According to him, it could be linked to Stockman's current experimentations with mutagen."

Donatello frowned.

"I need to see that."

Michelangelo interfered.

"I'm coming! I'm done cooking and I want to know what Raph found. I'm sure it can be played with!"

Donatello groaned.

"I really don't think it can, Mikey."

"Bro, you're underestimating me," Michelangelo joked. "You should know that I can play with everything."

"May I come with you too?" Leonardo asked. He was curious to learn more about the Stockman of this world. It could be the occasion.

Donatello blushed.

"Don't take it wrong, Leo, but Raph explicitly stated that he didn't want you to come. We shouldn't be long though, it's not very far away from the lair. Sorry."

Leonardo bit his lip. He tried to sound indifferent.

"I understand, don't worry."

Donatello and Michelangelo nodded and quickly left the lair, leaving Leonardo alone. He lowered his head. He was tempted to follow them, but decided against it. _I don't want to make Raph even angrier with me_ , he thought glumly.

Leonardo shook his head. He had to keep his spirits up.

 _I know exactly what I need right now_ , he thought. _Some training._

He made for the dojo, which was deserted. He hesitated at the threshold.

_They didn't say I could. But they didn't say I couldn't, either._

He entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked from the shadows.

Leonardo spun round. His throat was suddenly dry. A giant rat had appeared right behind him from seemingly nowhere. The blue-clad turtle had carefully avoided thinking about that moment, and now he was caught off guard.

"Master Splinter," Leonardo forced the words past his lips. He bowed low. "It is an honor to meet you."

The ninja master didn't reply right away. He considered the turtle in front of him for a long time before answering.

"You must be Leonardo. My sons told me about you and your resemblance to them. I can see that it was an understatement."

Leonardo swallowed. He didn't know what to answer.

After a while, Splinter went on.

"Where are my sons?"

"Raph sent a text to Donnie. He found something related to Stockman in the sewers. Donnie and Mikey want to investigate," Leonardo succinctly reported.

"Hmm," the ninja master muttered. "Didn't you want to come with them?"

Leonardo diverted his eyes.

"Raph didn't want me to come."

"I see," Splinter mused. He looked at Leonardo with such intensity that the turtle felt his body shrink.

"My sons told me about your story, and I allowed you to stay here. But you must understand that if one of them can't adapt to your presence – no matter the reason or if you're at fault or not – you will have to leave," the ninja master calmly stated.

"I…I understand, Master Splinter," Leonardo uttered.

He felt crushed. In the rational part of his mind, he knew it wasn't his world and the giant rat in front of him was only trying to protect his family. Nonetheless, this Master Splinter was the mirror image of his own father – and yet Leonardo was nothing to him. The blue-clad turtle closed his eyes to fight back his tears. Where would he go if he had to leave? How would he go home if he was left on his own?

 _Father…Raph… Donnie… Mikey… I need you,_ he thought desperately.

"You didn't answer my first question. What are you doing here?" The voice of his father-who-wasn't-his-father said, and Leonardo forced himself to focus on the words.

"I wanted to train," he answered in a slightly shaky voice.

"Then you may," Splinter added, and his tone wasn't unkind. "Though I do not allow you to take weapons from our armory."

Leonardo forced himself to open his eyes and bowed again.

"Thank you," he said. His tone was emotionless now. He buried the hurt and sorrow inside of him, not to be dealt with until he was alone.

Splinter seemed to hesitate, but added nothing. Instead, he quietly left the dojo.

Leonardo breathed deeply. He didn't want to think about what had just happened – not here, not now. He slowly began a kata, allowing the familiarity of the movements to appease his tense body. He started it again and again, until he heard voices coming from the entrance of the lair.


	7. Progress

Leonardo absent-mindedly rolled a taco, not really listening to the ongoing conversation. Michelangelo's food was delicious, but he wasn't in the mood to properly appreciate it. However, he didn't want to upset the orange-clad turtle. He was well aware of the three pair of eyes watching him.

Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael had come home half an hour before, talking animatedly about their discovery. Raphael had ignored Leonardo when the blue-clad turtle had come out of the dojo, but he was nonetheless sitting at the table and eating with the others.

 _I suppose we can call it progress_ , Leonardo thought. He felt empty. His encounter with Splinter had drained his energy and he was reacting mechanically. Michelangelo seemed a little worried about him – he had already asked a few times if Leonardo was fine – but he hadn't insisted. _If I was reacting that way with my brothers, there is no way they would let me get away with it so easily_ , he thought with melancholy. _Raph especially wouldn't._

"So what do you think?" Donatello asked him, obviously not for the first time.

"Uh? Sorry, Donnie, I wasn't listening," Leonardo excused himself. "I was too busy savoring this delicious meal," he added as an excuse, and was rewarded by Michelangelo's grin.

"Do you think that Raph's discovery and your arrival here could be linked?" Donatello repeated patiently.

Leonardo pondered this. Michelangelo had described the discovery in question with great enthusiasm. Apparently, somebody had exploded a canister of mutagen in a tunnel of the sewers. The walls were covered with the green substance. What was more disconcerting, they got scorched in places. Donatello had affirmed that the walls had been burned by laser beams.

"I don't know, Donnie," he finally answered. "I wasn't burnt or mutated, only teleported to an alternate universe. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Raphael grunted and took another mouthful of his taco. Donatello leaned on his elbows.

"Maybe you're right. But this was a little too close to the lair for my taste. I need to expand the area covered by my cameras to monitor this sector of the sewers too."

Despite his depressed state, Leonardo felt a flicker of curiosity.

"You've mentioned Stockman a few times since I arrived here. Why do you think it's his fault? Couldn't it be the Kraang?"

The others looked at him with confused expressions.

"What is a Kraang?" Michelangelo asked. "Never heard the name before."

It was Leonardo's turn to be confused.

"They're aliens from another world. They look like brains with slimy tendrils. They use robots bodies and want to conquer the planet…" He interrupted himself. Raphael was looking at him like he was crazy, Michelangelo wore an expression of pure delight and Donatello had taken his notebook out and was taking notes.

"I deduce that they don't exist in your universe," Leonardo deadpanned. "Or at least that you never met them."

"Nope," Raphael answered. "And I don't think that we ever will. Considering they are probably just an invention of your obviously deranged mind."

Leonardo shrugged and didn't bother to answer.

Donatello clasped his notebook shut.

"No, we don't have them in this world."

"Such a bummer," Michelangelo complained, his mouth full.

Leonardo rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he said. "Stockman it is, then. Is the man responsible for everything bad happening in this city?"

Donatello frowned.

"Don't take it lightly. He is a very powerful man. He has been experimenting with mutagen for years, and he is responsible for the last epidemic of mutants."

Michelangelo nodded vigorously, his last taco eaten.

"Yeah, Leo! Mondo and I, we search for them and help them get a grip on themselves. They are always disoriented first, and sometimes even dangerous."

He smiled at Leonardo.

"When I first met you, I thought you were one of those mutants."

"Stockman is in league with Hun, the leader of the Purple Dragons," Raphael condescended to add. "Those morons think they own the city." He bent backwards on his chair. "But Casey and I are here to teach them a lesson."

"I monitor Stockman's activities closely," Donatello added thoughtfully. "He hates us and regularly sends the products of his failed experiments after us. But he'll never be able to find us in the sewers, nor to pass my security system," he said quite smugly.

"I see," Leonardo answered. His mind was already spinning with the new information. He understood their earlier reactions a little better now, but he was feeling uneasy. Something in the picture didn't add, and he just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

 _I'll have time to think about it later,_ he decided. He addressed Donatello.

"Are you still willing to come with me tonight?"

Donatello nodded.

"Yes, I better get this done before the eventual traces disappear."

Raphael hit the table with both his hands.

"What? Where are you going, Donnie?"

Donatello looked at him quietly.

"In the city. I need to see the place where Leo arrived. There could be residual traces of energy and…"

Raphael interrupted him, shaking his head.

"And when were you going to talk to me about it? You're going to go on the surface with _him_ – what happened to the "I have no interest in wandering New York City's streets" Donnie?" He exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

" _This_ is something interesting, something scientific," Donatello remarked, almost bored. He was obviously used to his brother's outbursts. "What I have no interest into is the kind of mindless fighting that you and Casey like."

Raphael gritted his teeth and stomped out of the room.

"Fine, do it your way! I just hope for you that it's not a trap!"

Leonardo watched him leave with a heavy heart. Michelangelo noticed his sad expression and reached out, putting his hand on Leonardo's shoulder.

"He's always like this when he's worried. He really cares about us, you know."

 _I know_ , Leonardo thought with sorrow. _Except the_ us _is supposed to include me._

Something Raphael had said was tugging at his mind.

"You don't usually go to the surface, do you, Donnie?" The blue-clad turtle asked.

"No," Donatello answered simply. "I prefer to work in my lab."

Leonardo insisted.

"Even to hang out with your brothers?"

Donatello averted his eyes.

"Even so."

He stood up, obviously uneasy with the conversation.

"I suggest we leave at midnight. You've got a few hours to get ready. Is there anything that you'll need?"

 _My katana_ , Leonardo thought. _Shuriken. Smoke bombs – do they even have smoke bombs?_ Splinter had forbidden him to take weapons from the armory, and he wasn't going to disobey him. But he still needed a weapon. He thought about it.

"I'll need to gear up for our trip." He hesitated before going on. "I didn't exactly come prepared."

Donatello nodded.

"I noticed. We have weapons in the armory, but they are for the sole use of our family. I know you kind of are family, but I'm not sure that Master Splinter would…"

"He told me that I wasn't allowed to use them," Leonardo quickly interjected. "I will find something else. Maybe scavenge a bit."

"You can use my stuff all you want," Michelangelo generously offered.

Leonardo smiled at him. _Maybe I should take one of Mikey's comic books with me._ _Sensei said once that even a comic book can be a weapon in the hands of a ninja_ , he remembered fondly.

"Thanks, Mikey."

The orange-clad turtle looked at him expectantly.

"Um, Leo?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I come with you? Of course it isn't a problem if you do, I still have this awesome video game to play, but…"

"I will enjoy your company, Mikey," Leonardo answered wholeheartedly.

The orange-clad turtle clapped his hands.

"Awesome! Let's go!"

A few minutes later, Michelangelo and Leonardo were wandering in the tunnels. The heavy rain of last night had brought a lot of items in the sewers, and some of them were still pretty salvageable. Michelangelo found a plastic bag full of comic books and his joy eased Leonardo's heart.

The two of them chatted lightly, Leonardo mostly listening to Michelangelo. From time to time, he interjected a few words like "I see" or "Really?" to keep him going. The blue-clad turtle learned a lot about the brothers' way of life and the life in the city. This Michelangelo was even more talkative than his own brother, which was saying something.

The orange-clad turtle was obviously close to his brothers, but it appeared to Leonardo that the three of them had separate friends and schedules. He had already learned that Donatello preferred to stay in his lab. Michelangelo and Raphael went out almost every night, but they didn't seem to hang out together a lot. _I guess they rarely patrol the city together,_ Leonardo thought. His suspicions were confirmed when Michelangelo told him that last night fight – when he had jumped in to help Raph and Casey – was an exception and not the rule.

"Raph seems to be fighting a lot at Casey's side. Doesn't he team up with you sometimes?" Leonardo asked innocently.

"No. We don't really fight well together," Michelangelo shrugged. "We tried a few times and we couldn't make it work."

The orange-clad turtle seemed reluctant to elaborate on the subject, and Leonardo didn't push him. Maybe he would learn the whole story later.

When Leonardo was satisfied with his findings, they went back to the lair. Michelangelo began playing a video game while Leonardo went to see Donatello in order to borrow his equipment. He had found a small piece of metal and wanted to cut it out to produce a few shuriken. He also bent a piece of wood to make a bow.

He then settled in a corner of the living room and began making arrows. He still missed his weapon of choice, the katana, but at least he would be equipped for a long-range attack. _It's better than nothing,_ Leonardo thought. He was feeling a lot better. Taking action did wonders for him.

He raised his eyes at the sound of footsteps. Raphael was approaching him quietly, arms crossed. Leonardo remained silent and waited for him to talk first.

"If it's a trap and Donnie ends up hurt, I'll make you pay for it," the red-clad turtle stated.

Leonardo added a new arrow to his pile.

"I told you, I'm not an enemy. Donnie is kind enough to try to help me and I'm thankful to him for that."

Raphael contracted his muscles. It was obvious that he was making a great effort to keep his self-control.

"You better be. Donnie doesn't go out often, especially not since…"

"Since what?" Leonardo kept a neutral tone.

Raphael seemed about to say something more, but he changed his mind. He shook his head.

"It's none of your business. I'm just warning you."

Leonardo kept his mouth carefully shut. After a while, Raphael shrugged and left him. The blue-clad turtle pensively gathered his makeshift arrows.

 _I wonder what happened. Donatello didn't hint at anything and he seemed pretty confident to me._ Leonardo shrugged _._ He had done everything he could to prepare himself.

Shortly afterwards, Donatello left his lab with his bo staff strapped to his back. His jacket looked like it was heavier than before.

 _I don't want to know what he put inside these pockets,_ Leonardo thought.

"Are you ready?" The purple-clad turtle asked.

Leonardo nodded.

"Let's go."


	8. Taking Action

Donatello and Leonardo were running on the rooftops of New York City. Leonardo was watching Donatello closely, trying to figure out if something was wrong with him, but he couldn't detect anything.

Donatello wasn't very talkative. He followed Leonardo with ease despite his heavy jacket. Raphael and Michelangelo had left the lair too and parted with them at the manhole. Raphael was going to help Casey sneak out of his house – his dad had placed him under house arrest - and Michelangelo had promised Mondo that he would meet with him and tell him everything that had happened.

Leonardo watched his surroundings closely. He didn't fear an attack but kept ready to face one nonetheless. He had been ambushed too many times to take the relative safety of the rooftops for granted. _At least there are no other ninjas in the city,_ Leonardo thought. He had asked Michelangelo about it during their outing in the sewers, and the orange-clad turtle had been adamant. _No Foot clan. I'm not going to complain about it._

Leonardo jumped on another rooftop and stopped. They were approaching the alleyway where he had arrived yesterday. He shook his head. _Was it only yesterday? I feel like I've already been here far too long._

Donatello halted at his side.

"Is this the place?" The purple-clad turtle asked.

Leonardo shook his head.

"No, not yet. It was in an alleyway near that building," he answered while pointing at it.

"Then why did you stop?" Donatello tilted his head.

"I want to check that the course is clear before we venture further," Leonardo explained. He felt a little stupid. The words sounded too pompous.

"Really? Do you fear an ambush?" Donatello raised a brow, obviously not taking Leonardo seriously. The blue-clad turtle felt even more stupid.

"No, I just want to be careful," he replied in a very dignified tone.

Donatello considered him with interest.

"That's… actually rational," he said. "Which is not something I'm used to, considering who my brothers are."

Images of Raphael rushing head-on in a fight and of Michelangelo forgetting every notion of caution for the sake of a shiny button crossed Leonardo's mind.

"I can relate to that," he smiled.

The two turtles circled cautiously around the building. Nothing was moving, neither on the rooftops nor in the streets below.

"Alright, let's go," Leonardo whispered.

He made the last jump and landed in the dark alleyway where he had found himself yesterday. _At least it's not raining this time,_ he thought.

Donatello followed him close. The purple-clad turtle immediately brought a small device out and began turning its buttons. He was muttering under his breath while pacing the alleyway. Leonardo gave him some space to work and jumped on a nearby fire escape to keep watch.

After about ten minutes, he decided to interrupt Donatello.

"Have you found something?"

Donatello shook his head with irritation.

"No, nothing at all. It's like nothing happened here. Are you sure it's the right place?"

"I'm certain of it," Leonardo answered. He felt a tingle of fear. This was their only lead. He refused to contemplate what would happen to him if it didn't shed any light on his situation.

"Let's consider this differently," Donatello soothed him. "Where did you land precisely?"

Leonardo jumped on the ground again and placed himself at a particular spot.

"I was facing this entrance of the alleyway," he answered. "Exactly like this."

Donatello watched him pensively.

"Let's see… If we make the reasonable hypothesis that a receiver of some kind had to be pointing at you, and considering the fact that the light beam of your world hit you from behind, the receiver should have been…"

The purple-clad turtle scanned the area.

"Right here." He indicated a spot at the wall and immediately moved to look at it more closely.

Donatello extended his hand and tinkered with the wall. There was a click and a small space opened. The purple-clad turtle exclaimed happily.

"Ah! I knew it! I'm always right," he congratulated himself.

Leonardo came nearer, eager to see what was inside the small space. He was disappointed again when he saw nothing.

"It's empty," he pointed out quite uselessly.

Donatello sent him a patronizing look.

"It's empty _now_ ," he retorted. "There was something inside it and it was removed not so long ago. Take a closer look."

Leonardo obediently did as he was told. There was indeed a thin layer of dust outlining a rectangular shape.

"Someone made sure that this object was well protected and almost undetectable," Donatello mused.

"Who is it?" Leonardo asked excitedly. Finally, they were making progress!

His enthusiasm vanished at the disapproving look that Donatello sent him.

"And how am I supposed to know?" The purple-clad turtle exclaimed with exasperation. "The person responsible for this didn't leave a note."

Leonardo felt stupid.

"You have no idea? So we're back to the beginning," he said miserably.

Donatello sighed, obviously noticing his distress.

"Not exactly. We can always monitor this place and see if someone comes back."

_I should have thought about that,_ Leonardo grimaced inwardly.

"I don't think we will learn anything else tonight," Donatello went on. "Let's get back to the lair."

The two turtles slowly began the journey home. Leonardo was feeling uneasy. He had the impression that someone was watching them. His unrest grew until he was certain of it. His ninja senses rarely tricked him. _Whoever is following us knows how to be stealthy,_ Leonardo thought. _And I thought there was no other ninja in the city… Wait a minute… What if there_ is _no other ninja?_

At his side, Donatello was running quietly. He didn't seem to have noticed anything. Leonardo discreetly took a shuriken in his right hand and waited for the right moment. When they turned a corner, he threw it in the direction of their follower, at the precise angle and height required to pass just over the head of a short teenage mutant ninja turtle.

They heard a roar.

"How _dare_ you?"

Leonardo turned around the corner, arms crossed. _Maybe it wasn't a very wise move, but I'm tired of his behavior_ , he thought.

"You were the one stalking."

A fuming turtle left the shadows.

"Raph?" Donatello exclaimed, incredulous. "What are you doing here? Wait a minute… Have you been spying on us? On _me_?"

Raphael managed to look both embarrassed and very, very angry. But Donatello didn't let him speak. He advanced towards him and took something from the red-clad turtle's belt. Leonardo glimpsed a red dot pulsing on a small screen.

"You've been using _my_ emergency program to stalk _me_!"

"I had to!" Raphael shouted. "You're the one hanging out with a perfect _stranger_ to investigate I don't know which nonsense! A stranger who, by the way, just attacked me! Have you no self-preservation at all?"

"He wouldn't have attacked you if you had had the common sense to make your presence known, or better yet, to actually _ask_ if you could join us!" Donatello shouted.

"Can you fight quieter?" Leonardo asked calmly. He knew he shouldn't, but he was enjoying the show nonetheless. "You're going to wake up the whole city."

Raphael looked at him with murder in his eyes and ran at him.

"I'm not done with you, Raph!" Donatello yelled. He took his bo staff and used it to make his brother trip. Raphael fell on the ground face down.

_Oops, it must have hurt_ , Leonardo thought. He almost felt sorry for the red-clad turtle.

"What made you think that you could go behind my back like that?" Donatello went on, still shouting.

Raphael picked himself up and clenched his fists.

"What's wrong with you? You should be thanking me for making sure that you're not in trouble like last time!"

That last sentence silenced the purple-clad turtle, who suddenly looked deeply hurt. Raphael bit his tongue, his anger vanishing.

"Donnie, I'm… it came out wrong…"

"There you are!" Another voice exclaimed. "Dudes, we can hear you miles away!"

The arms, then the head of Casey Jones appeared. The teenager struggled to climb on the rooftop.

"Is that how you check on people, Raph? Because you're totally overdoing it…"

Raph blushed.

"It's all his fault!" He said, pointing at Leonardo.

Casey looked at the blue-clad turtle, who shrugged.

Donatello had calmed down. He calmly greeted the teenager.

"Hi, Casey. I hope this whole spying thing wasn't your idea."

Casey quickly shook his head, clearly terrified at the idea of being on the purple-clad turtle's wrong side.

"No, no! I swear!"

Donatello frowned before nodding in acceptance of Casey's innocence. The teenager sighed in relief.

"Weren't you two supposed to hunt some Purple Dragons tonight?" The purple-clad turtle asked.

"Oh yes, we did!" Casey happily exclaimed. "And then they fled, again. I don't know what's going on with them, but they are more and more cowardly."

"Can we go now?" Leonardo interjected. "We are exposed."

Raphael turned towards him with a threatening look.

"You better shut up! I've no interest in listening to anything you have to say! I…"

He opened his eyes wide. In a single move, Leonardo had spun round and drawn his bow, an arrow pointing at the darkness in front of them.

"Well, well. Look at what I found," a cold voice rang.

"Hun," Donatello whispered. His voice was blank.

Raphael placed himself protectively in front of his brother and drew his sai.

"And he was kind enough to bring friends," the red-clad turtle said in a defiant voice. But the look he sent at his purple-clad brother betrayed his concern.

Behind them, Casey Jones was balancing his hockey stick in a menacing way.

Slowly, figures appeared from the shadows, climbing their way to the top of the building.

_Definitely not my world_ , Leonardo thought at the sight before him. He threw a glance at the three figures beside him. _I hope these three can stand their ground in a real fight._


	9. Fight

Leonardo watched their enemies approach. In his world, the Purple Dragons presented no real threat – at least they hadn't since a long time. Even Hun was no match for him. But the figures gathering around them were far more numerous than the three measly people who formed the street gang of his world.

 _And there is the problem of the exoskeleton_ s, Leonardo added in his head. _I guess Hun really is in league with Baxter Stockman._

"I'm so glad to meet you again, Donatello," Hun almost purred. "Our last meeting was interrupted so rudely."

The gang leader glared at Raphael before turning his gaze back at Donatello.

"We hadn't even begun to properly get to know each other."

Donatello gritted his teeth. He was grasping his bo staff with such strength that his joints were blanching. He seemed ready to launch himself at Hun, without consideration for the fact that the man was encased in a two meters high and heavily weaponized exoskeleton.

Maybe he would have if Casey hadn't come to a sudden realization.

"So that's why there were so few of them in the streets! They were preparing for a full-scale attack!" He exclaimed. "And what's with the robot parts, guys? You didn't feel confident enough with your usual trinkets?"

His remark efficiently diverted Hun's attention.

"You little fool," the man disdainfully spat. "You were so engrossed in your vigilante game that you didn't even notice that my men had followed you! My partner will reward me greatly for this!"

Casey and Raphael paled. Leonardo cursed under his breath. If he hadn't been too busy enjoying Raphael and Donatello's argument, he could have heard the Purple Dragons coming sooner. Maybe they would have had time to escape. But now they were surrounded.

Hun turned his attention towards Leonardo.

"And the little brat is here too! Still willing to fight alongside your brothers? You should have learned by now that you're no use to them! Where is your scaly sidekick, by the way?"

 _He thinks I'm Mikey_ , Leonardo realized. _Which means he probably has nothing to do with my arrival here._ The blue-clad turtle put that piece of information aside for later use.

Hun was swaggering now. He was obviously having a lot of fun. _With this exoskeleton, he really looks like a peacock,_ Leonardo registered in the corner of his mind who wasn't focusing on the upcoming battle.

None of them had attacked so far, but the tension was increasing. It was only a matter of seconds now.

 _Who is going to attack first?_ Leonardo wondered. _Raph is usually the one to begin a fight, but Donnie seems pretty upset._ The blue-clad turtle knew it would be better if they waited for their enemy to attack first. However, he also knew that he couldn't just order them to wait. His heart was aching for his own brothers and the formidable team they made together.

"Brag all you want, I'll still beat you to the ground," Raphael shouted defiantly.

The gang leader tilted his head and smiled viciously.

"Before or after I beat your brothers to the ground? But after all, at least one of them is used to it." He indicated Donatello, still smiling.

Both Donatello and Raphael roared and launched themselves at the gang leader. Hun emitted a ridiculously high-pitched battle cry. He swirled his metal arms and sent the two turtles to the ground. They picked themselves up, ready to attack again.

The Purple Dragons rallied their leader and the battlefield quickly became a mess.

After a few minutes of fighting, Leonardo was grateful that the purple Dragons were so numerous. Half of them had exoskeletons, though not quite as weaponized as Hun's. The other half had the usual gear: chains, pipes and knives. They obviously weren't used to fight in an ordered fashion and they frequently got in each other's way.

Leonardo was jumping on satellite dishes and chimneys and was sending arrows and shuriken with deadly precision at the articulations of the exoskeletons. The Purple Dragons inside shouted their anger at him and tried to take him down, with no success. The blue-clad turtle was moving too fast for them.

Raphael and Donatello were circling around Hun, who was apparently enjoying himself immensely. Leonardo couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was efficient: the two turtles were trying to take him down by sheer strength and they were tiring quickly. _Go on like this and Hun will just have to pick you,_ Leonardo thought with irritation. He watched the distant fight with concern. Raphael and Donatello weren't exactly getting in each other's way, but their attacks weren't coordinated either.

Leonardo's attention was diverted by a more pressing matter. At the other side of the rooftop, Casey was doing a fair job of sending Purple Dragons over the edge of the building with his hockey stick. However, the teenager was getting quickly overwhelmed. Leonardo shot his last arrow and rolled in Casey's direction, taking hold of a Purple Dragon's knife in the process. The owner of the knife shouted his indignation and Leonardo kicked him in the chest, sending him in the direction of another Purple Dragon. Both fell on the ground.

Casey looked at him with appreciation.

"Dude, you sure know some fighting. I'm beginning to believe that you really could be Raph's brother."

Leonardo ducked to avoid a swirl of Casey's hockey stick and kicked another Purple Dragon over the edge.

"Thanks, I guess."

Between the two of them, they managed to clear their way back to Raphael and Donatello.

Hun seemed to notice that his men were falling quickly. He roared and apparently decided that it was time to stop playing. He pointed a gun in Casey and Leonardo's direction. The detonation echoed and the bullet hit the cement.

 _It's not good_ , Leonardo thought. He had seen it coming and managed to get Casey out of the way just in time. _Now he has enough room to shoot without risking his men's lives._

Raphael and Donatello desperately attempted to open Hun's armor. But it was better made than those of his men and they couldn't find an opening. Leonardo bit his lip.

Purple Dragons were regrouping in the background. Hun pointed his gun again and this time, it was Raphael who put Casey out of the way. The gang leader sent a metal fist in Donatello's direction and knocked the turtle, who let out a strangled cry.

"Donnie!" Raphael shrieked in dismay.

"I'm…okay…" Donatello managed to say, though it was obvious that he wasn't.

The blue-clad turtle quickly assessed the situation. They were tiring faster than Hun who had his exoskeleton to help him, and there were still too many Purple Dragons standing. The conclusion was simple: they had to get out of here, and fast. But they would make an easy target for Hun if they tried to jump over the rooftops. _That's what smoke bombs are supposed to be for,_ he thought desperately. _It's worth a try._

"Donnie! Do you have any smoke bombs in this jacket of yours?"

Donatello was still disoriented from the hit. He blinked.

"Do I have what?"

"Never mind," Leonardo replied, rolling to avoid another blow from Hun.

The gang leader seemed to rejoice seeing the purple-clad turtle on his knees. He whispered something in the turtle's ear, and Donatello clenched his fists and tried to kick him. Hun merely laughed.

Raphael and Casey were busy repelling the Purple Dragons. They fought efficiently together, in a brawling kind of way. Leonardo could tell that Raphael was desperate to reach Donatello, but he was being propelled in the opposite direction.

 _The situation is becoming desperate_ , Leonardo thought. _We must end this now._

He needed a plan.

 _Don't fight the armor, fight the man within_ , the voice of his beloved sensei resounded in his head.

Leonardo pulled strength from the memory. He scanned the area, searching for a particular item.

_Come on, they are a street gang. They're bound to have a few… Got it!_

"Hey, Hun!" The blue-clad turtle shouted. "I must say that you're tougher than you used to be, but you're still nothing more than a gang member following orders!"

Hun turned over and took a closer look at him.

"What?" He exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "You're not the orange one!"

Taking advantage of his surprise, Leonardo used the paint can he had just stolen from a Purple Dragon and sprayed the purple paint on the plastic screen protecting Hun's head, efficiently blinding him. The gang leader shouted in outrage.

Leonardo then jumped at Donatello's side.

"Donnie, come on! Let's get out of here!"

Donatello shook his head.

"No. I'm not leaving."

"What do you mean, you're not leaving?" Leonardo exclaimed, not believing his ears.

"You don't understand. He told me that he knew where she was. I thought she had been lost, but…"

"Who are you talking about?" Leonardo was having a hard time making sense of Donatello's sentences. _Hun must have hit him harder than I thought_ , he supposed anxiously.

"I don't know her name! I just saw them take her, and I was unable to help… and then I couldn't find her again…" To Leonardo's dismay, tears were sliding on Donatello's green cheeks. "I tried to find her, I really tried, but all I could manage was to get captured. Raph and Mikey had to rescue me, and Mikey got hurt…"

 _This is not the time for a confession,_ Leonardo thought. He tried to get Donatello on his feet, but the purple-clad turtle was resisting. From the corner of his eye, he could see Raphael and Casey finally reaching them, and two Purple Dragons wiping the paint on Hun's armor.

"Donnie! Let's go!" Raphael shouted. He took his brother by the arm, but Donatello was remaining motionless.

"Donnie!" Raphael's tone became threatening. "I'll carry you if I have to!"

 _But you won't be able to defend yourself if you do_ , Leonardo thought. _And we still have to fight our way through the Purple Dragons. Who could have guessed Hun was that good at recruiting people?_

Donatello remained motionless.

"No! You should have seen the look she sent me. She was counting on me, and I failed her!"

Raphael sent a desperate look to Leonardo, forgetting to be mad at him in his distress.

"It took him months to recover from his depression. He was finally back to his old self, and now…"

Raphael shook his head.

"I wish he had never met that red-haired girl!"

And suddenly, the whole story made sense to Leonardo.

 _Oh, Donnie_ , he thought with compassion. He bent over Donatello.

"April. Her name is April," Leonardo whispered.

He closed his eyes for a second and made a promise he had no idea how to keep.

"And I'll help you find her."

And then Donatello was moving again, and the four of them were leaving behind a furious Hun.

 _What have I just gotten myself into?_ Leonardo thought not for the first time, before they disappeared in the sewers.


	10. Report

They ran until they arrived at the lair. Michelangelo was here, watching TV on the couch. As soon as he saw them arrive, he jumped on his feet.

"Guys! What happened?"

He noticed Donatello's pale skin and the bump on his head.

"Donnie! Are you hurt?"

Raphael caught his breath. The tension of the recent events, the exhaustion of the fight and run, his anxiety for his purple-clad brother and his own helplessness got the better of the red-clad turtle. His temper snapped and he lashed out at the only target he wasn't afraid to hurt.

"It's your fault!" He shouted at Leonardo, jumping at him and sending a powerful kick in his plastron.

Leonardo hadn't been expecting it and didn't dodge in time. He doubled up in pain and sidestepped to avoid the next assault of Raphael, still in a rage.

"Raph! Stop it!" Casey exclaimed, launching himself at his friend to prevent him from attacking again.

"It's…his…fault!" Raphael panted. "I warned him!"

"Snap out of it, dude!" Casey shouted. "In case you didn't notice, he probably saved Donnie's life back there, and he certainly saved mine!"

Raphael paused, still breathing heavily. Michelangelo had put an arm around Donatello's shoulders and was sitting him on the couch with the gentleness of an experienced nurse. He sat down next to his brother, watching the others with a stern expression.

" _What happened_?"

Leonardo straightened up, groaning. _Whatever the universe, Raph knows how to throw a punch,_ he thought wryly. _When is he going to understand that I'm not the enemy?_

Raphael clenched his fists and turned over to face Michelangelo.

"What happened? What happened?" He spat. "Hun happened! He attacked us with more Purple Dragons than I had ever seen and he…" He abruptly stopped, finally noticing that Donatello hadn't uttered a word since they had fled the battlefield. His anger receded, leaving only the anxiety.

"Donnie… Are you alright?" Raphael asked hesitantly.

"What is going on here?" An ominous voice asked, and everyone turned around to face a very distressed Master Splinter.

The giant rat looked at each of them in turn. He watched Casey still locking Raphael in a restraining embrace. He frowned at Raphael's stiff posture and at his clenched fists. He glared at Leonardo, who had his hands still clasping his aching stomach. He observed Michelangelo, whose arm was still around Donatello's shoulders. Finally, his eyes rested on his purple-clad son, still sitting motionless and in a state of shock. Splinter's ears twitched.

"Donatello, my son," he called softly, kneeling beside his son. "Talk to me."

Donatello slowly raised his head at him.

"Father," he answered, his voice thick with repressed emotion. "Father, he knows… who _she_ is…"

Splinter briefly closed his eyes, obviously relieved that his purple-clad son wasn't in a catatonic state. He rested his palm on his shoulder and turned his gaze back at Raphael, Casey and Leonardo.

"I want to know what happened," he stated calmly. "In detail."

Raphael swallowed hard and Casey finally let him go to better hide behind him. Leonardo forced his hands to rest at his sides. In his own world, he would have been the one to report to Splinter what happened in a battle. But in this world, he was unsure as to what to do. He looked at Raphael and waited for him to speak first.

Raphael snorted, obviously uneasy to be the focus of everyone's attention.

"Why don't you ask him?" He said derisively, indicating Leonardo.

 _Nice, Raph,_ Leonardo thought wryly. He sighed. _Let's get this over with._

Splinter was now glaring at him. Leonardo could hear the repressed anger and worry behind his calm tone when he asked him.

"Tell me, Leonardo. What happened to my sons?"

Leonardo took a few seconds to steady himself and sort his thoughts. He reported calmly.

"Donatello and I had been investigating the place where I landed in this world. We were returning to the lair when we met Raphael." The blue-clad turtle left behind the fact that Raphael had been stalking them and that he himself had thrown a shuriken at him. _No need to aggravate the situation,_ he thought. "We had a… discussion, and Casey joined us soon after."

Leonardo pretended not to notice Splinter's raised brow. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Michelangelo had brought a first-aid kit and was bandaging Donatello's head.

"That's when Hun and a group of Purple Dragons attacked," the blue-clad turtle went on.

Leonardo knew that Splinter would want to know how Hun had found them. They were supposed to be ninja. Stealth was supposed to be a second nature to them. _Well, I can't really tell him that Donnie and Raph were shouting at each other, right? Or that I was enjoying myself immensely watching them. And technically, the Purple Dragons followed Casey who followed Raph who followed Donnie who was with me. It's everybody's fault, so it's no one's,_ he tried to convince himself.

Leonardo quickly went on, not wanting to let Splinter time to think about it.

"They had exoskeletons. We fought them, but Hun managed to hit Donnie. We fled and came back here."

He stopped. It was one of the less detailed reports he had ever made. Leonardo knew that if he had been in front of his own father, his fingers would have been fidgeting and his voice would have been slightly higher-pitched than usual at the thought of concealing so much from him. But it wasn't his own world, it wasn't his own father, and Leonardo was too exhausted to think twice about it. In front of him, Raphael didn't add anything. He probably wasn't very proud of his stalking-followed-by-fighting-his-sibling act and had no wish for his father to know about it.

Splinter didn't seem entirely convinced though, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Donatello's voice spoke first.

"You said her name was April. How? How can you know her?"

The purple-clad turtle had obviously recovered from his earlier shock. He stood up and moved to face Leonardo, oblivious to everybody else in the room.

"I want…no…I _need_ to know everything you can tell me about her."

Leonardo sighed.

"Can we sit down? It's quite a long story."

And so Leonardo ended up telling them who his April was. He told them her full name, that his father was a scientist, that the Kraang in his world had tried to abduct her and that his brothers and he had saved her. He added that she had psychic powers but left behind the fact that she was partly Kraang. _This story is crazy enough as it is,_ he thought. He also didn't tell them that she was training as a kunoichi under Master Splinter's guidance. _No need to rub it in._

Donatello took notes from the beginning to the end.

"April O'Neil," he muttered thoughtfully. "And Kirby O'Neil. With these names alone, I can begin to work. Thank you, Leo," he added sincerely.

"You're welcome," Leonardo sighed.

He tilted his head. Donatello was chewing his pen, observing him with an inscrutable gaze.

"So in your world, you did manage to help her," the purple-clad turtle finally whispered. The anguish in his voice made Leonardo wince.

Michelangelo reacted immediately and threw his arms around his brother's shoulders.

"It wasn't your fault, Donnie," he told him fervently. "There was nothing more you could have done."

Donatello's shoulders sagged.

"I know it here, Mikey…" The purple-clad turtle pointed at his head. "But I don't know it here," he finished, pointing at his heart.

Master Splinter sighed. He had remained silent with the others, listening carefully to the blue-clad turtle.

"We already went through this, my son."

Donatello lowered his head.

"I know, Sensei. And I had accepted it, but now…" His gaze hardened. "Now I have been given another chance, and this time I won't fail."

Leonardo noticed the concerned glances that Splinter, Michelangelo and Raphael exchanged. _Raph told me that Donnie had been depressed,_ he remembered. _I hope I didn't make things worse by telling him who April is._

Master Splinter shook his head.

"And I'm sure that you will use this chance wisely, my son. But for now, it is time for all of you to go to bed. And for Casey to go home," he added with a nod in the teenager's direction.

Casey took the hint and stood up.

"Bye, guys. Goodbye, Master Splinter. See you tomorrow, Raph," he said before leaving.

Donatello tried to head for his lab instead of his bedroom, but Raphael calmly blocked his path.

"No way, genius. You won't be of any help if you can't keep your eyes open."

As Donatello was beginning to protest, he took him by the arm and began dragging him into his room.

Splinter watched them leave.

"I'll need to meditate about tonight's events," he said. Without another word, he left for his own room.

Michelangelo and Leonardo stayed alone in the living room.

Leonardo smiled tiredly at the orange-clad turtle.

"Goodnight, then. See you in the morning," he said.

Michelangelo muttered something vague without looking at him.

"Mikey?" Leonardo asked hesitantly. "Is something the matter?"

The orange-clad turtle suddenly raised his head and looked at him fiercely. Leonardo glimpsed tears in his eyes.

"Is something the matter? Is something the matter? Do you have any idea how it was to see Donnie so depressed all these months? And now he may very well relapse!" Michelangelo wiped his eyes with irritation. "Why did you have to come here? I don't want him to go through this again, I don't!"

"Mikey!" Leonardo exclaimed. His heart ached.

He tried to grasp Michelangelo's arm, but the orange-clad turtle evaded him and ran away from the room. A few seconds later, Leonardo heard his bedroom's door slam.

The blue-clad turtle closed his eyes to prevent his own tears from escaping. _I'm sorry, Mikey, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you,_ he thought. Rationally, he knew that it wasn't really his fault. But like Donnie had said, he knew it in his head, not in his heart.

Shaking, Leonardo made for his improvised bedroom.

 _Why am I even here? Why?_ He thought in the darkness of the room which had never belonged to a Leonardo.


	11. Getting To Know You

Leonardo didn't sleep well that night. He kept tossing and turning in his quilt. When he finally fell asleep, he dreamed that he was separated from his brothers by a thick glass screen. He was trying to call them, but they didn't hear him. He woke up shivering, a thin layer of sweat covering his skin. _This situation is affecting me far too much if I begin to have nightmares about it,_ Leonardo thought bitterly. _And it has only been two days._

He began breathing exercises that Master Splinter had taught him, and managed to fall asleep again.

The next morning, Leonardo was up early. He hadn't had any other nightmare, but didn't feel well rested. What's more, he was feeling anxious. Last night, Raphael had punched him, Michelangelo had all but burst into tears in front of him and Master Splinter had kept glaring at him. Only Donatello had seemed to be grateful for the information he had given him. _Don't forget Casey. He took your defense,_ Leonardo acknowledged. _Anyway,_ _I can't say that I'm feeling welcomed._ He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to hide in this room for fear of getting out. He had faced powerful enemies with courage countless time before. _But you had the support of your family then,_ a small voice whispered in his head. _And it didn't go so well when you had to stand alone against the Foot and Shredder, remember? Not to mention that they are not supposed to be your enemies._

Leonardo shook his head and dismissed his thoughts. He just had to get used to this world. He asked for nothing more than getting to know the other turtles who by so many aspects were so much like his own brothers. _But it goes both ways,_ he thought. _They have to let me in if we are going to cooperate efficiently with each other._ And cooperate they would have to, if they were to save April. Or if he was to ever go back to his own world, for that matter. _I can't request from Donnie to focus on that now,_ he sighed.

Leonardo braced himself. He would have to walk on eggshells to avoid worsening the situation with Raphael and Michelangelo. _And I still don't know what Master Splinter thinks of all of this_ , he thought with concern. He hadn't forgotten that the ninja master had threatened to throw him out if his sons couldn't adapt to his presence. _Adaptation takes time,_ he tried to reassure himself. _A master like Splinter knows that. He has to._ Leonardo took a deep breath and left the room.

It turned out that he was the first out of bed. The lair was still dark and silent. _Finally something I'm used to_ , he thought. He made for the kitchen and prepared himself some tea. After all, Michelangelo had allowed him to help himself. He drank his mug with deep relief. He then put it in the sink and headed for the dojo. Why not go on with his morning routine? _It's not as if I have anything better to do_ , he thought wryly. He didn't switch the lights on and simply began to practice. As he hadn't his katana, he kept to kata which didn't require them. As he fell into the familiar patterns and focused on the required effort, he felt his mind relax. He was working on a particularly complex one which gave him a hard time – he had just stumbled and was trying to figure out where he got it wrong – when he became conscious of a presence in the doorway.

"Do you need help?" A teasing voice asked.

Leonardo turned towards Raphael, blushing. The red-clad turtle's smug expression made clear that he had seen him fall. _Of course, he had to arrive at precisely that moment,_ Leonardo thought with irritation. To the blue-clad turtle deep annoyance, it wounded his pride. _Don't let pride get in the way of your progress,_ his father's voice echoed in his head. Leonardo shook his head.

"Good morning," he said. He was still feeling irritated and he forgot that he had decided to be careful with Raphael. "Are you going to punch me today?"

Raphael crossed his arms.

"Nah. I talked to Donnie before he went to bed. He wants you in one piece."

"You're very generous," Leonardo answered dryly.

Raphael snorted. He hesitated before going on.

"And I've thought about what Casey told yesterday. That you saved his life."

The red-clad turtle shrugged.

"He's my best friend."

Leonardo heard the silent 'thank you' behind Raphael's words and felt a little better. He nodded.

Raphael quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, Mikey is asking if you want breakfast."

"Really? He seemed pretty mad at me last night," Leonardo admitted.

"He's worried about Donnie," Raphael said. His tone contained a slight warning. "As I am. But he has decided that you're our guest nonetheless, and Mikey has a strict policy concerning guests."

 _You three talked it through, I see_ , Leonardo thought with bitterness. He couldn't help feeling left behind. _It's stupid,_ he admonished himself. _I should be glad that they are both in better spirits today._

"I'm going for breakfast," the blue-clad turtle declared.

Raphael nodded his approval and they both left for the kitchen.

Michelangelo was here, adding another pancake to the already impressive pile standing on a plate at the center of the table.

"Hi, Leo," he said when he saw the blue-clad turtle arrive. "Sorry about yesterday. I felt a little upset and…"

The orange-clad turtle interrupted himself and bit his lip.

"No harm done, Mikey," Leonardo quickly reassured him, although he wasn't being entirely sincere. "I understand."

Michelangelo smiled at him and indicated the pancakes.

"Want some?"

Leonardo smiled back at the orange-clad turtle and nodded. _Whatever happens next, at least I'll be well fed_ , he thought while taking a seat at the table.

Donatello didn't show up until later. He had been in his lab, learning everything he could about the O'Neil from the Internet. Of course, they were a lot of people named O'Neil in New York City, and he was busy classifying data.

However, the purple-clad turtle had to put his work on hold for his weekly session of training with his two brothers. He was less than happy about it, considering it a loss of time.

Leonardo wasn't of the same mind, but he wisely didn't express it in front of the irritated Donatello. He remembered what Michelangelo had told him about it. _They are mostly training individually, which is why Raph and Donnie's attacks weren't really coordinated yesterday,_ he thought. _Actually, Raph was forming a better team with Casey._

The blue-clad turtle was allowed to attend the training session as an observer. Even if he would have liked to participate in it, he considered himself lucky. _One step at a time,_ Leonardo told himself firmly.

He sat cross-legged in a corner while the three other turtles knelt in front of their sensei.

"We will begin with the new moves each of you has been learning," Master Splinter told them. "You will demonstrate them to your brothers. Raphael, you will begin."

The red-clad turtle nodded and stood up, doing a series of swift moves with his sai. Leonardo watched him intensely. _He's good, no doubt about it,_ the blue-clad turtle admired.

Michelangelo's turn was next. The orange-clad turtle smiled and launched himself in a series of moves involving both his nunchuks and a lot of curved lines and arabesques. _You're showing off, Mikey,_ Leonardo thought fondly. The sequence was more beautiful than useful in a fight. Master Splinter must have noticed it too, because he discreetly sighed. Leonardo admired Michelangelo's talent nonetheless.

Donatello was the last to stand. He executed his sequence with a sullen expression, obviously wishing he wasn't there. Still, his mastery of his weapon was apparent.

"Very well, my sons," Master Splinter approved. "Now you will duel each other."

At this statement, Raphael grinned while Michelangelo and Donatello sighed.

The reason for this reaction quickly became obvious to Leonardo. Raphael was winning no matter who his opponent was. What's more, he was winning in mere seconds. Michelangelo won when opposed to Donatello, but the fight was more balanced.

"Yame!" Master Splinter shouted when the last fight was over. "Now you will stand two against one."

 _Fighting together,_ Leonardo thought with interest. _That's bound to be interesting._ He wasn't disappointed. When Raphael was paired up with Michelangelo or Donatello, he just beat his opponent without consideration for his partner. When he was the one against both Michelangelo and Donatello, he dismissed them with the same ease that he had shown earlier.

 _It really doesn't work, does it?_ Leonardo mused _. And it doesn't help that Mikey and Donnie don't believe anymore that they can win._

"Raphael, you have to allow your partner to fight beside you," Master Splinter interjected once.

"But Sensei, I don't need them to win," Raphael protested. "What's the point?"

Master Splinter watched him sternly.

"You can't rely solely on yourself all the time, my son. Besides, don't you allow Casey Jones to fight alongside you?"

"It's different," Raphael protested. "We understand each other."

 _No doubt_ , Leonardo thought wryly. _They are both hotheads to the extreme._

"Then you must aim at reaching that same understanding with you brothers," Master Splinter sighed. "Training is over."

The three turtles bowed to him and the ninja master departed. As soon as his tail had disappeared from the dojo, Michelangelo pretended to collapse from exhaustion.

"No offense, guys, but I'm glad this is over. At least until next week."

Raphael shrugged.

"You should step up your game, Mikey. Then it wouldn't be so hard for you."

Michelangelo stuck his tongue out at him.

Donatello shrugged.

"From my point of view, it was a waste of time. These sessions always unfold in the same way."

At this moment, Master Splinter's head reappeared between his screen doors. Michelangelo immediately stood up with a sheepish expression.

"Upon reflection, I think you need more training together. Let's do this again this afternoon." He addressed Leonardo, still watching the scene from his corner. "Maybe our young guest will agree to participate as well. Novelty can be refreshing."

"Hai, Master Splinter," Leonardo bowed.

Then the giant rat's head disappeared again.

"Oh, come on," Michelangelo muttered before collapsing on the floor once again.


	12. Turning Point

Leonardo wasn't exactly sure why Splinter had decided to let him take part in the three other turtles' training. He guessed that the ninja master had heard his sons complaining about these sessions and hoped that a new person would help them change their mind about it.

 _If only I could show them how amazing teamwork can be,_ Leonardo wished anxiously. _But I have no idea how to achieve that_. He thought about his own brothers. _It took hours and hours of training, numerous battles and, as far as I'm concerned, a fair number of headaches to forge us into the team we are today. It's not something I can just instill in them in one afternoon!_

It was an understatement to say that the three other turtles weren't happy about that extra training session. Donatello had locked himself up in his lab to continue his work. Raphael complained that he wouldn't be able to meet with Casey as he had intended and monopolized the TV while Michelangelo read his new comic books on the couch. Leonardo didn't know what to do with himself, so he sat on the couch with Raphael and Michelangelo and tried to concentrate on the broadcasted cartoon. But it was in vain. The blue-clad turtle's thoughts kept going back to the imminent training session. _Relax,_ he told himself. _Nobody is expecting anything from you. Just take it as it comes._

Michelangelo finished his comic book and turned towards Leonardo.

"Hey, Leo. I'm sorry you have to be a part of this. It's not fun being beaten by Raph, but at least you won't be alone."

"Don't expect me to go easy on you just because it's the first time you train with us," Raphael interjected.

"Don't worry, I can defend myself," Leonardo answered. He was feeling slightly irritated. _They could give me a little more credit_ , he thought.

"Yeah, whatever. I sure hope you'll be steadier than this morning," Raphael told Leonardo smugly.

The blue-clad turtle remembered the incident. Raphael had arrived just when he was stumbling during his own training session. Leonardo's competitive spirit stirred. _It_ was _an advanced kata,_ he thought. _I would like to see_ you _performing it._

The promised training session arrived soon enough. The four turtles lined up in front of Master Splinter. Leonardo was overwhelmed by both the familiarity and the strangeness of it. First of all, he hadn't taken his usual place between Raphael and Donatello, but instead was kneeling next to Michelangelo. Second, he still hadn't his katana. He hadn't dared to ask this Splinter about the fact that he had, at the moment, no appointed weapon. _What a ninja,_ he thought wryly. He bowed his head with the others and waited for the ninja master to explain what he was expecting from them.

Master Splinter hummed.

"My sons," he began. "I have thought about the recent events at length. Though I had doubts about the merits of having a stranger of another world as a guest…"

Leonardo winced at Splinter's choice of words but didn't interrupt him.

"… I have allowed myself to be convinced by your arguments."

Master Splinter eyed Donatello and Michelangelo.

"Now Leonardo is sharing our home, and we might as well turn this into a learning opportunity."

 _This is already more like Master Splinter_ , Leonardo thought relieved. He was on edge, not really knowing where he stood.

"Leonardo," Master Splinter went on. "You had the opportunity to watch my sons fight, both in a training situation and, for two of them, in a real battle. What do you think of their fighting style?"

The attention of the three other turtles focused on Leonardo, who coughed. He chose his next words carefully.

"I have witnessed that they are individually powerful fighters," he answered.

Raphael smiled at the statement.

"Some of them more powerful than the others," he added with self-sufficiency.

"That is enough, Raphael," his father told him off. Raphael shrank. Splinter addressed Leonardo again.

"Have you noticed anything else?"

Leonardo bit his lip. He was cornered.

"Yes, I… I have noticed that they seem to have trouble cooperating," he admitted. _Which is an understatement_ , he added inwardly.

Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael sent him reproachful glances. He threw them an apologetic look. However, Master Splinter nodded in approval.

"Yes," the giant rat replied. "I have noticed the same problem, and despite my best efforts, I haven't managed to solve it."

Splinter smoothed his beard.

"Maybe I shouldn't have begun to train them separately in the first place."

His sons began to protest. Their father interrupted them with a wave of his hand.

"Whatever the reason is, this problem needs to be addressed."

He raised a brow at his three sons.

"It has come to my attention recently that you considered your shared training sessions as a waste of time."

Donatello suddenly lost himself in the contemplation of his knees.

"Because they, I quote, always unfold in the same way."

His purple-clad son's cheeks slightly flushed. He laughed nervously.

"I didn't really mean it, Sensei. I was just, you know… uh… stressed."

Splinter nodded in acceptance of his son's clumsy apology.

"Therefore, I wish to help you rethink this by adding a new and unknown element to your training session…"

 _There we are_ , Leonardo thought. He did his best not to stiffen. An awkward silence stretched.

"Let's warm up with a few kata," Splinter suggested after a while.

The four turtles stood and did as instructed. Leonardo applied himself to strictly follow the others' pace. The kata were easy enough and each turtle could execute them perfectly. During the whole time, Leonardo could feel the looks the others directed at him. _Of course they would be curious,_ he thought. _Relax._

When they were done, Master Splinter gave them his next set of instructions.

"Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo, you will try to defeat Raphael. No weapons allowed. Raphael, as you don't believe in teamwork, I don't think that it will bother you. Does it?"

Raphael grinned, certain of his victory.

"It doesn't, Sensei."

He put his sai on the floor and placed himself at the center of the dojo. The three other turtles moved away, Michelangelo and Donatello dismissing their weapons too.

"Okay," Michelangelo sighed. "Who goes first this time?"

"Let's decide this at rock, paper, scissors," Donatello answered. "Leo, are you ready?"

Leonardo couldn't believe his ears.

"That's your strategy?"

Donatello shrugged. Leonardo looked at him in disbelief.

"Aren't you even going to fight back?"

It was Michelangelo's turn to shrug.

"Nah, it makes it worse."

"But you could… I don't know, try to surprise him… if we all attack at the same time from different directions, it will be more difficult for Raph to defend himself against all of us, don't you think?"

"I don't think it will make a big enough difference," Michelangelo answered slowly, as if Leonardo's intellectual capacities were limited. The orange-clad turtle tilted his head. "But we can always try," he added, obviously humoring Leonardo.

 _Really, that's exaggerated_ , Leonardo thought annoyed. _They're not even trying!_

Donatello nodded his agreement and the three turtles scattered across the dojo. Raphael watched them with interest.

"Interesting. Do you think it will be enough? Because I don't," he grinned.

"Hajime!" Master Splinter shouted to begin the fight.

Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo launched themselves at Raphael. The red-clad turtle caught hold of Michelangelo's arm and used his brother's momentum to send him like a projectile in Leonardo's direction, while kicking Donatello's legs to make him trip. Michelangelo screamed his disagreement. Leonardo sidestepped and somersaulted above Michelangelo-the-cannonball, grasping the orange-clad turtle's wrists in the process to reverse his momentum and send him back to Raphael. The red-clad turtle opened his eyes wide and didn't react in time to avoid his brother. Both went rolling on the floor, under Donatello's astounded gaze.

"Yame!" Master Splinter shouted. "Well done, Leonardo. This was quite…unexpected."

Raphael picked himself up. His sight blurred.

He had never lost in his entire life.

He had _never_ lost in his entire life.

Who was this turtle to come and humiliate him in front of his family?

In a fury, he picked his sai and before anyone could stop him, he launched himself at Leonardo.

The blue-clad turtle reacted on pure instinct. In one swift move, he rolled on the floor, leaned on his hands and kicked Raphael's legs. The red-clad turtle fell for the second time. This time, Donatello and Michelangelo quickly jumped at him to prevent him from doing it again.

"Raphael! Stop it!" Master Splinter demanded.

The red-clad turtle shook his brothers off and glared at Leonardo. The blue-clad turtle stepped backward, shocked by the hatred in Raphael's eyes.

"Get out! Get out!" The red-clad turtle shouted.

"Raph, calm down!" Michelangelo shouted, trying to get through to his upset brother.

Leonardo bit his lip. It was too much for the blue-clad turtle. Things were getting better between he and Raphael, and now it was worse than ever. _I should have known he would be upset,_ Leonardo thought desperately. _I should have known!_

"Maybe it would indeed be better if you left us for a while," Master Splinter suggested. "Would you please go to your room while my son calms down?"

 _I did nothing wrong!_ Leonardo wanted to protest. Splinter's earlier words were echoing in his ears, superimposing on Raphael's pants and Michelangelo's shouts. _If one of them can't adapt to your presence… not matter if you're at fault or not…_ He clenched his fists. He missed his home, his family, more than ever. _I'm just trying to help!_ He thought miserably. _This world is impossible!_ His vision was fuzzy. _Am I crying?_

And suddenly he couldn't take it anymore.

He heard Donatello call him, but didn't understand his words. He ran out of the dojo, out of the lair, and into the sewers as fast as he could. His footsteps echoed in the deserted tunnels. He didn't stop when his legs began to ache, jumping and turning and losing himself deeper and deeper down in the sewers maze, blindly avoiding the pipes and channels bubbling with sewer water. _I just wanted to help!_

He only slowed down when he had a stitch in his side. His whole body was protesting. He stopped and doubled over, trying to regain his breath.

Leonardo felt disoriented, both from the effort and from the emotion. He tried to gather his thoughts. His mad race had brought him in a part of the sewers that he rarely crossed. The equipment was more ancient here, more susceptible to break. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room. Something was glinting slightly a few meters in front of him. He approached it, trying to make out what it was in the dim light. Broken glass, he thought. And a kind of… slime?

An alarm turned on somewhere in his head, but he was exhausted and didn't think straight. _What was it? Something about a discovery Raphael had made…_

 _A canister of mutagen. It's a broken canister of mutagen,_ he realized with horror. _And it's recent._ _I have to get out of here._

Leonardo spun round before realizing something else, something that made his blood freeze in his veins. _I'm not alone._ But before he could understand what it was, the blue-clad turtle was hit by a huge shadow with the strength of a bulldozer. Before he passed out, he wondered why the shadow seemed familiar.


	13. Captive

Leonardo woke up with a bad headache. It took him several minutes to remember what had happened. When he did, he groaned. _So stupid,_ he admonished himself. _What has come over me? Blindly running in the sewers of a foreign world like that. I was asking for trouble._

Of course, Leonardo knew why he had acted that way. He had been so upset by Raphael's reaction that the thought of staying at the lair with the others had been unimaginable.

 _Still_ , he sighed, ashamed of himself. _I should have been more careful. Ninjas are supposed to keep a cool head no matter the circumstances._

Leonardo's muscles were sore. He tried to stretch out and quickly found out that his movements were restrained by a chain. He bit his lip. _This keeps getting better and better. But at least I didn't break anything._

The blue-clad ninja focused on his environment. It was too dark to see anything and he explored by feel. He was lying down on a thin mattress, his ankles and wrists loosely chained to a wall. He wasn't too uncomfortable, which let him think that whoever had captured him didn't want to hurt him – yet.

With his left leg, he felt the floor. Tiles. He didn't know where the door was. He tested the chain, but it was solid. He wouldn't break it with his bare hands.

Having done everything he could, he relaxed his body. His mind was spinning. _Who attacked me? Friend of foe?_ The fact that he was chained tipped the scale in favor of the second possibility. _This and the fact that I don't have a lot of friends in this world_ , he thought miserably before shaking himself up. Self-pity wouldn't bring him anywhere.

He wondered if Donatello and Michelangelo –he didn't dare thinking of Raphael right now- had begun searching for him. He didn't believe that they would purely and solely abandon him, but maybe they didn't think he was in danger and wanted to allow him alone time. After all, he had been pretty upset when he had left. _I was crying,_ he remembered, feeling his cheeks burn. Leonardo quickly dismissed the painful memory. He resigned himself to waiting and began meditating.

Later – he couldn't have said how much time had passed – Leonardo heard footsteps and saw light filter through a slit above the floor. _The door is here_ , he thought. The blue-clad turtle closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

He heard the door handle turn. The door squeaked slightly and artificial light flooded the room. Leonardo could feel it through his closed eyelids and he resisted the urge to turn his head away.

An unknown voice spoke.

"It's the new one?"

Another voice answered.

"Yes, they found him last night."

"He looks like one of those turtles. Is he awake?"

"I don't think so. It doesn't matter, the chief won't be back before a couple of hours anyway."

The two voices didn't seem worried of being attacked. Leonardo wondered why. Considering how loose the chain was, he could use it to immobilize one opponent at least. If they came nearer.

But they didn't. Their footsteps retreated and the door closed again. Leonardo opened his eyes and saw that the room was separated in two by bars. _It really is a cell._ _They are careful people,_ he thought. _And how am I the new one? Are there other mutants prisoners here?_

The light outside switched off and he was in the dark again. _They spoke of a chief,_ Leonardo mused. _Is it Hun? If so, I'm in deep trouble. I don't think he has forgotten our last encounter._ He sighed. _I'll know it soon enough, I guess._

The blue-clad turtle passed the time by reciting in his head all the mantras he knew. _It's a shame that none of them can break steel,_ he thought idly. _It would be pretty useful right now._

Now Leonardo was feeling dizzy again. He tried to move, but his limbs didn't respond. He felt a rush of air on his face. _Gas,_ he thought. _They are drugging me…_ He tried to fight the effects, to no avail. He fell into unconsciousness.

When he awoke, he felt that he was sitting on a metal chair. _And I'm tightly bound this time. I can't even move a finger,_ he realized.

A monitor beeped. Someone moved nearby.

"He's awake."

No use faking sleep this time, Leonardo thought. He opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. He was in a laboratory of some sort, with lab benches and a lot of electronical and chemical equipment. He recognized a few items here and there. _Here, a centrifuge._ He thought of Donatello. His brother would know these items, there was no doubt about it.

He looked at the two people in front of him. He could hear at least another person behind him, but he was unable to turn his head. The person who had just spoken was a laboratory assistant. He seemed uneasy. The other one was a man with glasses and a pink pullover. _Baxter Stockman,_ Leonardo thought. Physically, he was the same man than the Stockman of his world had been before his mutation into a disgusting giant flee. But this Stockman's expression was more confident and…yes, serene. It was the expression of a man of authority. Leonardo almost choked at the thought. _Stockman having authority? Seriously?_

Stockman leaned towards him.

"Hello, turtle."

Leonardo didn't answer. Stockman was unfazed -another thing the blue-clad turtle never would have expected from him- and tilted his head.

"I hope that you are comfortable. We had to take certain precautions, you see. From what my partner told me, you're a dangerous little turtle."

Stockman smiled with contentment.

"I must say I'm surprised to meet you. When Hun told me that there was another turtle…well…the idea that he lied crossed my mind. You know, to cover his failure."

Stockman shook his head.

"One of the very rare times where I have been wrong, I suppose."

Stockman considered Leonardo, eyebrows raised. When the turtle didn't comment, he went on.

"I would be curious to know where you are from. You're not one of my mutants, I'm certain of it. And nobody had seen you before your…encounter… with Hun. And let's not forget your appearance! You look just like three other turtles I know well. Are you one of them? Have they been hiding you for all those years?"

Stockman began pacing the floor.

"Did they get rid of you? Is it why you were found alone and unconscious in an alleyway last night?"

Leonardo had stayed expressionless until then, but at this statement, he felt his eyes widen. What did Stockman mean? He had been knocked out in the sewers.

Stockman noticed his change of expression and rubbed his hands in glee.

"I would like to hear your story, oh yes. And you'll tell me everything, no doubt!"

He suddenly got closer to Leonardo, watching him with intent.

"Be fast. I don't like losing my time, and besides…

Stockman smiled, every tooth apparent.

"I have allies…demanding allies…and you are the perfect prize to prevent them from sticking their noses in my business."

He moved back and laughed.

"And when I say 'noses', it's just a turn of phrase."

Stockman sat on a chair nearby and crossed his arms.

"So, I'm listening. Who are you and what are you doing here? What do you know about the other turtles?"

Leonardo weighed his options. Stockman couldn't be the one who had brought him here, unless he was an excellent actor. But then, what was the point in pretending not to know him? He wasn't responsible for his abduction, either. He had said that they had found him in an alleyway. Leonardo could try to make up some lie, but it was risky. He had too little information to make it as credible as it would need to be.

 _This is getting more and more confusing,_ Leonardo thought. He chose to remain silent. Stockman looked at him with slight annoyance.

"You're not very cooperative. Maybe I should let Hun question you? He's dreaming of a rematch."

Leonardo blinked and Stockman laughed at him.

"Not too eager, uh? I understand. The purple one wasn't either, but he remained silent just like you. He was lucky in the end, the others arrived right before Hun could begin his little chat with him."

Stockman stared at the blue-clad turtle coldly.

"I must warn you, no one will save you this time. Though I would love to see someone try. I have upgraded my security system, you know."

Stockman stood again.

"I'll let you think about it, and we will have another conversation later… In the meantime, I'll let you in the very capable hands of my assistants. Don't worry, they won't damage you, just make a quick examination."

He waved his hand. The assistant that Leonardo had already noticed approached. Someone else moved from behind and turned around to face him. Leonardo bit his tongue hard before a cry of surprise could escape him.

Stockman sighed.

"You're lucky, Kirby is always very gentle with my test subjects. But he's such a valuable assistant, I can forgive him this small flaw. Right, Kirby?"

Stockman smiled without warmth at the man in question, who bowed his head and didn't answer. Leonardo looked in disbelief at the tall scientist who was April's father.

 _What are you doing here, Mr O'Neil?_ The blue-clad turtle thought with a lump in his throat.


	14. Clarification

As soon as Stockman had departed the room, Kirby O'Neil and the nameless assistant began their examination. Leonardo wondered if he should try to speak to Kirby. _It's probably not a good idea, not with this other man's presence_ , the blue-clad turtle thought. _And I bet that there are hidden cameras registering everything._

Leonardo observed Kirby. The scientist was preparing a needle to take a sample of Leonardo's blood, much like Donatello had a few days ago. He wore a focused expression and carefully avoided looking the turtle in the eye.

 _He doesn't seem to be here willingly,_ Leonardo mused. _Is he a prisoner? But why did he accept to collaborate with Stockman, then? Mr O'Neil is supposed to be an honest scientist. It must have something to do with April._

Leonardo waited until Kirby had removed the needle from his arm. He took advantage of the fact that the scientist was leaning over him to whisper a question in his ear.

"Where is April?"

Kirby jumped and he almost dropped the blood sample.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, turtle," he whispered through gritted teeth before moving away in haste.

The laboratory assistant sent them an inquisitive look. _Fine, I won't try to speak to him again,_ Leonardo thought sheepishly. _I don't want to get him into trouble._

When the two scientists were done, the assistant put the content of a small bottle on a tissue before approaching the blue-clad turtle. He put the tissue on Leonardo's nose and mouth to force him to inhale the chemical product. Leonardo resigned himself to be drugged again. _I shouldn't make a habit of it,_ he thought wryly before drifting into unconsciousness.

Later, he woke up in his cell. At least he supposed it was the same cell – it was hard to tell in the dark. Leonardo's stomach growled. _I'm hungry. I hope they feed their prisoners._

As if someone had heard him, the light outside was switched on and he heard footsteps. A voice rang off. It was the same voice that he had heard before his conversation with Stockman, the one who had called him chief. _Must be the cell guard_ , Leonardo thought.

"I don't know why you always insist on bringing them food. Do you think one of them will help you? They are disgusting mutants, and besides, they are all chained."

The tone was disdainful. There was a silence, as if he was waiting for an answer, then he spoke again.

"Fine, I don't care anyway. Why the chief allows you to do it is beyond me, but hey, I'm not going to disobey him. And you shouldn't either."

It was undoubtedly a warning.

The door handle turned and two people entered the room. This time, Leonardo opened his eyes and sat up as straight as he could with his chains.

"You're awake, this time, mutant? Did you smell the food?" The voice of the man was teasing. He was tall and robust and had a gun at his belt.

But it wasn't him that made Leonardo gasp. It was the other person, a slender red-haired girl.

_April? April!_

"What is it, mutant? Have you never seen a girl?" The cell guard snorted derisively.

Leonardo's eyes anxiously scanned April from top to bottom. She seemed in good physical condition, except for the fact that her wrists and ankles were chained, which compelled her to take small steps. Leonardo felt anger burn inside him at the sight. Despite this, her chin was proudly up and her eyes were flashing. She was carrying a food tray. Leonardo couldn't help but notice the plate of mashed potatoes on it, as much as the plastic bottle of water. His stomach growled again.

The cell guard laughed. April ignored him and pushed a button on the wall. She put the food tray in the revealed opening and pushed the button again. A few seconds later, there was a click near Leonardo's head and the wall opened in front of him, allowing him to seize the tray. Despite his hunger, he took it with slow, graceful movements – at least as graceful as he could with the chain getting in his way – and began to eat. He didn't think that the food was poisoned. He already knew that they could drug him at their convenience.

Leonardo didn't dare to hope that the guard would leave him alone with April. He was eager to talk to her, to ask her the dozens of questions whirling through his head, but he couldn't do it in the man's presence. The last thing he wanted to do was cause April problems.

Indeed, the tall man stayed here and watched him eat. Leonardo ignored him. He finished his meal quickly and drank the bottle of water. April gestured to indicate that he should put the empty tray back in the opening.

Instead of immediately doing it, Leonardo ostensibly stared at the guard. Now that the food was safely inside his stomach, he was more willing to be audacious. The blue-clad turtle crossed his arms.

"I must say I'm surprised. Do you imprison girls as much as mutants? Are you that dishonorable?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see that April was watching him with interest. The guard shook his head, clearly amused.

"We don't imprison girls, mutant," he spat. "This one is special. She ensures his father's full cooperation."

April clenched her fists. _She's a hostage, then,_ Leonardo mused. _Does Stockman have any idea of her powers? If she has powers, of course._ He couldn't be sure of that, not in this strange world.

The guard went on.

"And she's not allowed to speak with you. Now give your tray back, or I'll have to make you."

He grinned evilly and patted his gun, and Leonardo shuddered. _I had better obey_. _I don't think he's joking and I can't do anything right now_ , the blue-clad turtle thought, feeling utterly helpless _._

Leonardo did as instructed and April got the food tray back. The guard talked again.

"Well, well. Goodbye, mutant. I don't think we will meet again. I can't say that it has been a pleasure, but a job is a job, right?"

Not waiting for an answer, he turned round and gestured April to the door. She slowly got closer to him, her chain hindering her movements. The guard shook his head, obviously annoyed, and opened the door.

As soon as his eyes were off her, April quickly turned her gaze towards Leonardo. Holding firmly the empty plate and the plastic bottle, she turned the tray over so that the blue-clad turtle could see its back.

Leonardo felt his heartbeat accelerate. Something had been written there with a pencil.

' _Third tile from the chain. Watch the cameras.'_

April then reversed the plate and left the room. The door slammed shut.

Forcing himself to take slow breaths, Leonardo laid down on his plastron, as if he was getting ready to sleep. He let his left hand hover around the floor, discreetly counting the tiles. _One, two, three. Here._ The notch was so thin that he would never have noticed it if he hadn't known that there was something to notice. The tile reversed and he grasped a tiny object. It felt like a smooth little ball.

 _What is it?_ Leonardo wondered, perplexed. He felt stupid. It was certainly important, or April wouldn't have taken the risk to communicate with him. But he might well have racked his brains, Leonardo had no idea how to use it. It was highly frustrating.

Some time passed. Leonardo had gone back to meditating, the tiny ball still squeezed in his hand.

_Hello._

Leonardo started. He could have sworn that he had heard someone speak, but he was alone in the room.

 _Am I hearing voices?_ He thought irritated. _That's all I needed!_

 _You're not. I'm talking to you,_ the voice answered.

This time, Leonardo sat up straight, muscles tensed. _What is going on here?_ He wondered.

 _I'm talking to you,_ the voice repeated. Was it Leonardo, or did it seem a little irritated? _In your head. You found the transmitter._

 _What?_ Leonardo thought. Then he remembered the tiny ball, and quickly put it on the mattress.

 _Can you hear me?_ Leonardo thought. The voice in his head kept quiet. He took the ball again.

 _Can you hear me?_ He repeated.

 _Only if you touch the ball,_ the voice answered. It _was_ irritated, no doubt.

Leonardo put it on the mattress again.

 _Okay, okay, don't panic. Someone is talking to you right now. It's probably April. She's nice. Nice telepathic April. Relax,_ Leonardo told himself. He took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to talk to April, but he didn't want her to hear everything he was thinking. Maybe he could choose what he would be sharing with her? He emptied his mind before taking the ball again.

 _Are you done now? I don't have all day,_ April said.

_Sorry, you surprised me. Uh, hi, April. You're April, right?_

The voice paused. _Yes, I am. Who told you?_

 _Long story._ Leonardo hesitated. _Can you hear everything I'm thinking?_

_No, only the thoughts you're focusing on. I must say I'm impressed, the signal is rarely that clear. Are you mind-trained?_

_Sort of. I have no telepathic abilities, though._

April heard the question behind Leonardo's remark and answered it.

_I do, with the help of these little devices. I'm sorry I surprised you._

_No harm done,_ Leonardo answered. He hesitated. Now that he had the opportunity to talk to April, he didn't know where to begin. _What do you know about me?_

April's answer almost broke Leonardo's concentration.

_I know that you're from another universe._

_How?_

April's voice was more hesitant now, almost embarrassed.

_Actually, it is kind of my fault if you arrived here. And, uh… you also got captured because of me, in a way. I'm sorry._

Leonardo blinked. _You knocked me down in the sewers? That's hard to believe._

 _It wasn't me,_ April answered. She sounded half-sheepish and half-irritated. _It was an ally. My only ally, in fact,_ she added with sadness.

Leonardo took a deep breath.

_Okay, one thing at a time. You told me that it was your fault if I arrived in this world. How?_

April hesitated.

_I'm not sure. I've been prisoner here long enough to get really bored. I've accidentally discovered that I could interact with Kraang technology – wait, I have to tell you what a Kraang is first…_

_Aliens shaped like brains, pink and slimy? I know them,_ Leonardo interrupted her. _I thought they didn't exist in this world._

 _Oh, they do exist._ April's voice was tense. _They tried to capture my father and me once, but we ended up in Stockman's hands instead. He's blackmailing my dad, threatening to give me to them if he doesn't cooperate…_

Leonardo could hear the anguish in April's voice. He clenched his fists. She went on.

_This madman has allied himself with them. He's experimenting on mutagen for them. I don't know if he wants to double-cross them at some point or if he's just stupid._

She sighed.

_Anyway, I've been discreetly experimenting with their technology. I'm not exactly sure how, but one of my experiments must have interfered with something in your world._

_You should talk about it with Donnie,_ Leonardo mused.

_With who?_

Leonardo bit his tongue.

_Donatello. My brother – at least in my world. He tried to help you once…_

_The purple-clad one?_ April asked. _I remember him. He got captured, right? And he escaped. Stockman was furious._

Leonardo's head was spinning from the amount of new information. He gathered his thoughts.

_And why did you say it was your fault if I was captured?_

April didn't answer directly. She was obviously uneasy.

_I've been trying to communicate with the mutants imprisoned here. So far, it only worked with you and the Gator Man._

Leonardo blinked. _The Gator Man?_

He heard April laugh.

_I know, it's not the best name. He looks like a giant alligator. He's the one who knocked you out. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time._

Leonardo frowned. A mutant alligator? Did she mean Leatherhead? Michelangelo was better at naming mutants, that was for sure.

_He was a prisoner here?_

_Yes, and he managed to escape. He has been helping me from the outside since then. He hates the Kraang and he has also been disrupting Stockman's operations on mutagen._

_It would explain the broken canisters in the sewers,_ Leonardo realized.

_Yes. He told me that you surprised him and he knocked you out._

_I'm sorry about it,_ Leonardo thought wryly. _But it doesn't explain how Stockman's minions found me._

_When he told me about you and I understood who you were – that you weren't from our world – he brought you to a place where we could try to reverse the experiment…_

April's tone was hesitant, as if she wasn't convinced that it was possible. Leonardo didn't like it.

… _but it didn't work. I don't know exactly what happened then, he had a blackout. He must have left you there. Uh… sorry again._

Leonardo pondered this. The Leatherhead of his world was subject to blackouts too. April went on. Her tone was determined.

 _I will make it up to you, uh…_ April suddenly came to a realization. _You didn't tell me your name._

 _Leonardo. Call me Leo,_ the blue-clad turtle offered. He felt worried. _What do you have in mind? Nothing that would get you into trouble, I hope._

April's tone was half-irritated and half-touched.

_Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself. I'm too valuable for Stockman anyway, he won't take the risk to lose me. I have to leave now. Goodbye, Leo._

Before Leonardo had time to answer, her presence dissipated.

 _I wasn't concerned about Stockman,_ Leonardo thought, alone in his head again. _If the Kraang do exist in this world, you're in more danger than I am._


	15. Cavalry

It was a fine day for Donatello, teenage mutant ninja turtle and highly esteemed genius of his family. He had been happily working on a few improvements for the Shellraiser – Raphael had asked for new weapons – and he had made progress in understanding how mutagen could combine the DNA of different creatures. Yes, it was a fine day, so Donatello didn't protest too much when his brother Michelangelo decided to use the Kraang communication orb stored on a shelf in his lab as a basketball.

Michelangelo was throwing and catching the orb with glee and a minimal level of noise. The orange-clad turtle didn't want to disturb his brother Leonardo, engrossed in his favorite cartoon show. The last few days had been trying for the blue-clad leader and Michelangelo thought that he deserved some peace – at least for this evening.

However, Donatello's fine day and Michelangelo's good mood abruptly came to an end when the Kraang orb began buzzing in mid-air. Before the two turtles had time to react, the orb emitted a light beam in the direction of the living room. Michelangelo shrieked and hid under Donatello's desk, where his brother quickly joined him. The orb hit the floor with a bang. When it became apparent that it wasn't going to shoot again, Donatello carefully picked it up and observed it with perplexity.

"I had no idea that it could do that," the purple-clad turtle remarked. "Mikey, what did you do?"

The orange-clad turtle left his hideout.

"Nothing, I swear! It's not me!"

Donatello frowned.

"But you were the one playing with it. You must have triggered something."

Michelangelo shook his head with vigor.

"Uh-huh, brother mine. I can't be held responsible for the strange behavior of Kraangy things. Even if I'm a Dimension-X genius!"

"You mean a genius in Dimension-X," Donatello corrected distractedly. "Hmm, it's strange. We should probably tell Leo."

At this instant, it occurred to both of them that Leonardo had been watching TV in the living room, where the light beam must have hit. They exchanged a dismayed look before rushing in the main area of their comfy lair.

"Leo! Are you alright?" Donatello shouted. He watched the couch with horror. Nobody was here.

"Leeeeo! Where are you?" Michelangelo exclaimed. He began frantically searching for his brother, throwing away the cushions as if Leonardo could have hidden behind them.

The cartoon that the blue-clad turtle had been watching was still displaying on the TV screen and the couch was still warm from his brother's body, but Leonardo was nowhere in sight.

"What are you two doing? I can hear you from the dojo!" Raphael exclaimed in an irritated voice, walking into the room and slightly panting. He had been so close of beating his own push-ups record before he heard the shouts.

Michelangelo threw himself at him.

"Raph! Leo is gone!"

Raphael looked at his brother with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean, gone?"

"I was being totally awesome at basketball, and then there was a buzz, and a light, and no Leo!" Michelangelo explained frantically.

Bemused, Raphael turned to Donatello. He hoped that the purple-clad turtle would have a clearer explanation.

"Mikey was playing with the Kraang communication orb," Donatello complied. "Then it buzzed and emitted a light beam. It must have hit Leo, because he's not here."

Donatello's voice was frantic with worry. Raphael didn't like what he heard.

"Whaaat? Mikey, what have you done?" He exclaimed, pulling his brother off him.

"Nothing!" Michelangelo protested.

Raphael wasn't convinced. However, before he could get him in a lock to make him confess to his guilt, the voice of their father resonated.

"What is going on here?"

The three turtles exchanged worried glances.

"Leo has disappeared," Donatello answered. "He was hit by a light beam from the Kraang communication orb."

Splinter raised an eyebrow.

"And why did the Kraang communication orb emit a light beam?"

"I don't know, Sensei," Donatello sighed.

Raphael crossed his arms.

"Mikey was playing with it," he said, as if it explained everything.

Splinter turned towards Michelangelo.

"It's not my fault!" The orange-clad protested. "I've played with the thing countless times before, and it never reacted that way!"

The ninja master sighed.

"I believe you, my son. Now you must find your brother. Donatello, have you any idea where he could be?"

Donatello shook his head, thinking fast.

"Good news is, I don't think he was disintegrated. It didn't sound like someone being disintegrated…"

He suddenly became aware of the shocked looks of his family.

"Yeah, good news," Raphael said in an incredulous voice.

Donatello sent him an irritated look.

"What I mean is that he was probably teleported. Bad news is, I have no idea where."

Splinter tilted his head. His fatherly heart had almost stopped at the mention of one of his precious sons being disintegrated.

"Then you must search for him."

"I'll try to call him," Donatello said. _That's where I should have begun,_ he thought.

The purple-clad turtle immediately did as he had said. They all heard the ringtone coming from Leonardo's bedroom and exchanged dismayed looks. No luck with that plan.

"I'll search the city," Raphael offered. "I'll call Casey and ask for his help."

"I'll come with you," Michelangelo added. Despite everything he had said, the orange-clad turtle was feeling guilty. Maybe he _had_ triggered something without meaning to?

"And I'll investigate the Kraang orb," Donatello finished. "I'll be in my lab."

Hours later, Raphael and Michelangelo came back to the lair. They had had no luck in finding Leo and were growing extremely anxious. Raphael snapped at Donatello when the purple-clad turtle told them that he hadn't progressed.

"Why did you even keep that thing in your lab? We should have destroyed it!"

Donatello blushed. He was very sensitive about the topic. It was true that his lab contained more than a few really dangerous things – but he had everything under control. And the Kraang orb wasn't even supposed to be one of them.

Splinter put a soothing hand on Raphael's shoulder.

"My son, do not allow anger to cloud your judgement. We are all worried about Leonardo. Accusing your brothers won't help."

Raphael bowed his head.

"You're right, Sensei. I just… I wish I could do more."

"I understand, my son," Splinter sighed.

The following days passed in a hurry. The turtles and Splinter grew more and more anxious. It didn't help when Raphael discovered that Leonardo's katana were still in the lair. Since then, the red-clad turtle had been carrying the twin weapons in the hope that he would soon be able to give them back to their owner. Donatello tried to join April – she had gone camping with her father – but to no avail. Michelangelo and Raphael combed the city for their missing brother, in vain.

One evening, Donatello was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands and cursing the Kraang in every language he knew. He was in the middle of a few well-thought Polynesian insults when the Kraang orb began to buzz again. However, it didn't emit any light beam. Donatello immediately reached for it and began investigating it again. After a few minutes of frantically typing on his keyboard, a triumphant exclamation escaped his lips. This time, the communication orb was communicating something. What was it – coordinates?

Donatello ran to his brothers.

"We need to find a Kraang portal," he exclaimed. "I may have found something!"

Raphael and Michelangelo immediately set into motion. The three turtles had been keeping ready to go at all times and they soon departed the lair, leaving behind their concerned father.

Since they had defeated the Kraang, there were far fewer Kraang portals in New York City. Relying solely on Michelangelo's talent – or sheer luck, depending on who you asked – they managed to find one. Donatello tinkered with it while his two brothers anxiously watched him. Then the three of them entered the portal and disappeared from their world.

They arrived in a dark alleyway. Little did they know that their missing brother had landed at exactly the same place.

Michelangelo watched the city.

"Uh, Donnie. I don't want to question your genius, but we're still in New York."

Donatello clucked his tongue.

"I can see that, Mikey."

The purple-clad turtle took a small device out and stuck his tongue out while tuning it.

"Oh! Amazing!" He suddenly exclaimed. "Who would have guessed it?"

Michelangelo and Raphael looked at him with quizzical expressions.

Donatello let out a laugh of pure delight.

"We're in another dimension! Isn't it great?"

Raphael blinked.

"I don't know, it depends. Is _Leo_ here too? You know, your blue-clad brother who has been missing for _days_?"

Donatello looked sheepish.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Hmm, I think he is."

Michelangelo was excited too.

"I love other dimensions! And that one looks a lot like our own! Do you think it has teenage mutant ninja turtles too?"

Raphael shook his head.

"Only one way to know, Mikey. Let's head to the lair, if there is one. If Leo came here, that's what he must have done."

Michelangelo and Donatello nodded. The three turtles were soon running in the sewers. Half an hour later, they arrived at the lair. They stopped at the turnstiles, suddenly hesitating to move forward. What was waiting for them inside?

Before they could make up their mind, they heard voices coming from the dojo, voices they knew very well.

"I found nothing suspicious in the sewers. Did you have more luck?" The voice was concerned.

"Nothing in the city. Mondo and I looked everywhere." Again, the tone was worried.

"He's just playing with you. He'll soon be tired of it." A grumpy voice.

At the entrance of the lair, Michelangelo turned excitedly towards his brothers.

"It's us!" He whispered. "We do exist!"

Then the orange-clad turtle jumped the turnstiles and moved to the dojo's entrance.

"Uh… hello?"

His greeting was met with a deafening silence. Donatello and Raphael hurriedly joined their brother.

Inside the dojo, three other turtles and a giant rat looked at them, aghast.

Michelangelo tried again.

"Hi guys! We are searching for our brother Leo. We think that he's kind of lost in your dimension. Have you seen him?"

The four mutants in front of him were still mute. But Michelangelo was a persistent turtle.

"About this height, blue-clad, blue eyes. With green skin and a shell."

The Donatello of this world recovered first.

"Uh, hello. Yes, we saw him. You're his brothers, then? Wow. He told us about you, but that's still…surprising."

His Michelangelo jumped in front of his double, still standing in the doorway.

"Awesome! You _are_ exactly like me! No wonder Leo was confused!"

Both Raphael were watching the scene with suspicion. The Raphael who had just arrived in this world spoke first, asking the only question that mattered to him.

"And where is he now?"

At these words, a heavy silence fell again. The turtles exchanged worried glances. Splinter answered the question.

"We haven't seen your brother since yesterday," he said in a calm voice.

Raphael felt his anxiety rise.

"Why?" A new thought occurred to him. "Is he with your Leo?"

The Michelangelo who looked just like his brother answered uneasily.

"Uh, we don't have a Leo."

Raphael found himself speechless. Next to him, Donatello's mouth dropped.

"Whaaaaat?" His brother Michelangelo shouted. "What do you mean, you don't have a Leo? How is it possible? The other universes always had a Leo!"

It took some time to settle him down, especially when his brothers were just as upset. When he finally did, the six turtles managed to exchange their respective stories. Leonardo's brothers weren't happy with the last part.

"What do you mean, he ran away?" Raphael shouted in anger.

"Your brother was upset," Splinter explained.

"Yes," the other Michelangelo added sheepishly. "He was crying and…"

Raphael looked at him with sheer incredulity.

"He was crying? _Leonardo_ was crying?" He interrupted him with a livid voice.

The red-clad turtle felt his anger rise to a whole new level.

"What did you do to my brother?" He yelled.

Donatello and Michelangelo grabbed his arms to prevent him from doing something stupid. The purple-clad turtle spoke coldly.

"And I assume that you have no idea where he is now?"

The three other turtles shook their heads sheepishly.

"We're back to the beginning, then," Michelangelo stated in dismay.

Donatello took a deep breath, restraining his own anger.

"Not exactly. At least we know that we are in the right universe. We just need to assess the situation."

He sent a warning glance to his red-clad brother.

"Calmly."

Raphael shook his head but didn't contradict him.

The Donatello of this world coughed.

"We…we're sorry. We will help you, of course," he offered. "In fact, we have begun searching for him, but we couldn't find him. Is there any possibility that he would willingly stay away from us?"

Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello exchanged glances.

"It's very unlikely," Michelangelo said. "I would find it easier to believe if you told me that he managed to get captured by a powerful enemy and is now chained up in a dark dungeon," he added, trying to lighten the atmosphere with a poor joke. It was for his brothers' sake, not for these other turtles who had made Leonardo run away. Michelangelo was mad at them for that, probably as much as Raphael was.

However, his joke hadn't the intended effect. The other Donatello paled and ran to his laptop. The six other mutants followed him to his lab. The purple-clad turtle was madly typing on his keyboard.

"Uh-oh," Donatello began. His voice was hesitant. "I think your Mikey may be right."

"What?" Leonardo's brothers exclaimed in unison.

"It appears that Stockman has captured him," Donatello went on. "He's boasting about it on his intranet."

"I can't believe it!" Raphael exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "You'd think Leo would have been more careful!"

"We don't know what happened," his Donatello frowned. "Maybe it wasn't his fault."

"It's still teasing material," Michelangelo added. "I can't wait to have him back!"

The three of them exchanged determined glances.

"We will bring him back, Mikey," Donatello added with conviction.

The other Raphael coughed. It was the first time he spoke since Leonardo's brothers had arrived.

"And how are you going to do that? Stockman's facility isn't exactly easy to break in. Or out."

Raphael shrugged at his double.

"We'll find a way," he said, absent-mindedly tapping the katana he still carried. His gesture attracted the other Michelangelo's attention. The orange-clad turtle asked him timidly, his curiosity taking over.

"Hey, Raph. Are you using both the katana and the sai? I thought you preferred the latter, you know… it's a shorter-range weapon."

Raphael looked at him with surprise.

"No, they are Leo's," he answered slowly. "Didn't he tell you?"

"No." The other Michelangelo shook his head. He sounded embarrassed.

"So Leonardo wields the katana," Splinter muttered. "I was wondering."

Michelangelo tilted his head.

"What has he been practicing with, then?"

"As far as I know, nothing," Splinter answered him kindly. "We didn't make it that far in our training session."

"You mean that it was the first time Leo was practicing with you?" Michelangelo exclaimed in consternation.

"So no weapons and no sparring partner," Raphael muttered. "No wonder the guy was upset."

Donatello shook his head, disgusted.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand. Does anybody have a plan?"

Raphael shrugged.

"Simple. Enter the facility, find Leo and let him get us out of whatever stupidly dangerous situation it is."

Donatello rolled his eyes. Michelangelo smiled.

"Works for me!" He exclaimed.

The other Donatello looked at them in incredulity. They seemed to take it so lightly.

"It's not a joke!" He exclaimed.

His Raphael put his hand on his shoulder to soothe him.

"You obviously don't know what you're talking about," the red-clad turtle grunted at the three turtles who had showed up from nowhere and apparently thought they could rescue their missing brother in no time at all.

Splinter whiskers quivered.

"Though I don't really know you, I advise you to listen to my sons. This isn't a game."

Leonardo's brothers watched him. Donatello straightened up.

"With all respect, Master Splinter, we know that. Do you really think we can forget that our brother's life is at stake?"

Splinter sighed.

"I do not want to belittle you. However, such an operation will require teamwork, and…" He looked at his own sons with a raised eyebrow. "I have reason to believe that it could be a problem."

"Don't worry about it," Michelangelo protested. "We're an awesome team! Are you not?" He added, looking at the other turtles. They blushed slightly.

"Not exactly," the other Michelangelo answered hesitantly. "Are you positive about this?"

"Yes," Raphael said with fierce determination. "We _are_ a team. And we're bringing our missing member back."


	16. Escape Attempt

Leonardo didn't know how much time had passed when he heard April's voice again. He had dozed off and was feeling as rested as he possibly could be considering the circumstances.

_Leo? Leo, do you hear me?_

April's tone was undoubtedly concerned. Leonardo instantly switched from a slightly comatose state to full alertness.

_I do, April. Are you alright?_

_Yes. Are you still in your cell?_

_Yes, I am. April, what's the matter?_

April sounded hesitant. She didn't answer right away.

_Leo, how good are you in a fight?_

Leonardo bit his lip. The better he got at ninjitsu and the less he liked to boast about his skills. However, this wasn't the time for false modesty.

 _Good enough, even without my usual weapons,_ he finally answered. _Provided I'm not chained, of course._

He felt April's relief.

_Good, that's good. Leo, I came upon a conversation between Stockman and the Kraang…_

Leonardo felt his heart sink. Was she spying on Stockman? She played a dangerous game.

… _and those slimy aliens are growing restless. They want guarantees that Stockman is making progress with the mutagen._

Her tone was slightly panicked now.

_Leo, Stockman is going to deliver you to them in a few hours, just after your questioning. We have less time than I thought!_

This wasn't good. Leonardo took a deep breath, refusing to let her panic invade him.

 _Do you have a plan?_ He asked calmly.

_I had one, but I won't be able to implement it._

She sounded sheepish, which aroused Leonardo's suspicions.

_April, what have you done?_

_Nothing!_ She answered defensively. _I mean, I may have been caught someplace where I shouldn't have been, and I may be locked up in a room miles away from this facility right now, but it's only temporary._

 _April!_ Leonardo's tone was a mix of anxiety and reproach. _I told you I didn't want you to get into trouble for me!_

April was quick to rebuke him. _And I told you I could take care of myself. I'm just grounded, which is kind of ridiculous considering I'm already a prisoner. But nothing else is going to happen to me, while_ you _are in immediate danger._

Leonardo sighed.

_Fine. Do you have a back-up plan?_

April hesitated.

_From that distance, all I can do is make the transmitter explode…_

_Whaaat? You gave me a bomb?_

Leonardo dropped the tiny little ball in haste. He saw it from an entirely different perspective now. As April's voice died in his head, he remembered that he had to touch it in order to communicate with her. He grimaced and picked it up with the greatest precaution.

 _I was saying,_ April repeated with an irritated voice, _that I didn't 'give you a bomb'. But I discovered recently that I could send a signal through it. It will disturb electromagnetic radiations up to one meter around it. It's enough to open your shackles. Unfortunately, it will also destroys the transmitter._

_Wait a minute. You could have freed me since the beginning?_

Leonardo felt offended. April answered him with a soothing tone which didn't completely hide her amusement.

_I could have freed you from the chain. And you would still be locked up in your cell, where they can drug you at will. And we would have lost our only way to communicate. But if you insist…_

Leonardo felt stupid.

 _Sorry. I'm just on edge. I don't especially like being at the mercy of my enemies,_ he added wryly.

 _Don't worry about it,_ April said gently. _I will contact you regularly. Tell me when they bring you out of this cell and I'll send the signal._ She hesitated. _The rest will be up to you. I'm sorry, it's the best I have to offer._

 _It's perfect, April,_ Leonardo reassured her. _Thanks for your help. You really are amazing._

 _You're welcome_ , she answered.

Leonardo could almost feel her smile in his head.

The next time April contacted him, Leonardo was still in his cell. He had had time to think about the plan. And something was disturbing him.

_April, I was wondering about something. If you destroy the transmitter, how are we going to communicate once I'm out of here?_

When she didn't answer, the blue-clad turtle's suspicions were confirmed.

 _We won't be able to,_ he finished sadly.

 _No. I'm sorry. That's why I didn't want to use the transmitter that way, but I can think of no other solution,_ April answered softly. She sounded resigned.

Leonardo bit his lip, thinking fast.

_What about Leather… the Gator Man? He has a way to contact you, right?_

_Yes, he has a transmitter too._ April's tone was surprised, and almost hopeful. _You would try to find him, even if he knocked you out?_

_Of course. We want to help you, April._

_We?_ She was laughing, and Leonardo smiled.

_Yes._

He suddenly felt dizzy and hastily wedged the transmitter inside one of his elbow-pads. His captors had probably searched him the first time, but he hoped that they wouldn't do it again.

 _They are drugging me,_ he thought. _It shouldn't be long now…_

April's response was lost to him while he drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Donatello, brother of Leonardo, was clutching his bo staff with strength. He was looking at Stockman's facility. It hadn't been difficult to find. The resident turtles of this other dimension knew exactly where it was. In fact, everyone in the city did. But it didn't mean that it would be easy to enter.

Raphael's plan – if you could call it a plan – wasn't exactly foolproof. They had no idea where Leonardo would be, or if he would be in any state to lead them. But time was playing against them and Donatello had no better idea.

 _If only I had my equipment,_ the purple-clad turtle thought with regret. _My double needs to work on improving his family's gear. I can't believe they have no Shellraiser._

The other Donatello had stayed in the lair. He would help them as best he could by monitoring Stockman's activities in real time and guiding them through the complex. He had told them that Leonardo would be questioned by Hun today, which let them hope that the blue-clad turtle hadn't been hurt yet. However, the purple-clad turtle had been unable to disable Stockman's security system.

Donatello sighed. His double had been very unhappy about it, muttering something about different security layers and how much had he missed about Stockman? So they would have to pass through Stockman's defenses on their own.

Beside Donatello, two Michelangelo swirled their nunchuks. The Michelangelo of this world had insisted to come with the three brothers, and his Michelangelo was keeping an eye on him. Their feelings towards each other were oscillating between wariness and excitation. Donatello hoped that it wasn't a mistake to take the other Michelangelo with them – from what he had gathered, he wasn't really used to teamwork. But he was still a valuable fighter and they needed all the help they could gather. _Leonardo would have known what to do,_ Donatello thought with a pang. He missed his brother. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _With some luck, he will be with us again in no time at all._

His Raphael was next to them, weapons at the ready. He was still brooding over the way Leonardo had seemingly been sidelined by the three turtles of this world.

The other Raphael was hiding with Casey in a dead-end street on the opposite side of the building. They would offer a diversion while the four other turtles would sneak in stealthily from the rooftops. Donatello was surprised that this Raphael had offered his help – he hadn't been very welcoming until then. But maybe he wanted to make up for his previous behavior?

Sounds of fighting echoed in the night.

"It's the signal," Donatello whispered. "Let's do this."

"For Leo," his Michelangelo added.

"For Leo," Donatello and Raphael repeated, clapping hands.

The other Michelangelo looked at them with melancholy. He remembered the last time he had had to save a brother captured by Stockman. He closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't end up hurt this time.

Without another word, the four turtles jumped from one rooftop to another.

They broke a window to enter. Donatello had searched for cables, antennae, or anything that could have helped him to hack into Stockman's system from the inside, to no avail. They had resigned themselves to simply go into the building.

Naturally, an alarm rang as soon as the glass shattered. The Michelangelo of this world tilted his head.

"Maybe I didn't understand your plan, but that wasn't very stealthy, right?"

Raphael growled.

"Shut up and come in. If your brother does his job well, they won't immediately send guards here."

The orange-clad turtle shrugged and jumped inside.

Donatello kept in contact with his double via an earpiece. He whispered to him.

"Okay, we're inside. Can you tell us where to go now?"

"I see that. You set the alarm off," the other Donatello answered, obviously annoyed. "Try to go downstairs. There are only offices on this floor. And hurry. Many guards are busy with Raph and Casey, but I don't know how many Stockman hired."

Donatello frowned – no need to remind him of that - and motioned to the others that they had to move downstairs. So far, nobody had met them.

The purple-clad turtle suddenly heard his double again.

"There is some commotion on the fifth floor. I'll try to access the cameras."

Donatello heard typing, then a gasp. When the other Donatello spoke again, his excitement was unmistakable.

"No way! It's Leo! He's fighting against a group of security guards. And winning. Ouch! The poor guard, that must have hurt."

Donatello suddenly felt much more hopeful. If Leonardo was already free, half their job was done. He turned to the three turtles beside him with a grin.

"Leo is on the fifth floor. He apparently managed to get free. Let's go!"

Raphael rolled his eyes.

"Couldn't he have done it sooner?"

But he was grinning too, as were the two Michelangelo.

The three turtles took the stairs and went downstairs until they reached the fifth floor. The corridors were wider here. The four turtles hurried to the closest door and opened it, only to find themselves in a kind of airlock. The room in front of them was protected by a laser wall. A swipe card was required to deactivate it.

Donatello let out an irritated sigh. _I guess it was too easy_ , he thought. He read the warning icons. The lasers would detect biological material – like humans, or mutants – and destroy them.

His Michelangelo moved his hand closer to the lasers. Donatello slapped it with his bo staff.

"Don't touch it! It is tuned to detect and destroy biological beings."

Michelangelo let out a small cry of pain.

"Hey! I knew that."

Through the lasers, they could partly see the room in front of them. It was a huge room with screens and a control panel, a lot of heavily armed guards, and...

Donatello choked.

"It's Kraang technology!"

His brothers Raphael and Michelangelo turned to the other Michelangelo.

"I thought you said there were no Kraang in your world!"

"I did!" Michelangelo defended himself. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Donatello sighed.

"Well, this is obviously a dead end. Let's try another door."

As he turned around to leave, Donatello heard his double speak in his earpiece.

"Donnie? I've lost sight of Leo. There are no cameras where he is now."

At this instant, the four turtles heard shooting noises coming from the other end of the huge room. A shadow entered their field of vision, quickly followed by a company of guards. The guards who had already been in the room turned to see what the commotion was. The shadow stopped between the two groups, trapped.

Michelangelo paled.

"It's Leo!"


	17. Reunion

Leonardo was in a difficult situation. Of course, he hadn't expected his escape to go smoothly – not when the only plan he had was something akin to 'let April work her magic and run weaponless from an unknown building filled with unknown enemies'.

When he had woken up, chained to another metal chair, he had felt with great relief that the tiny transmitter was still inside his elbow-pad. He was in a different room this time, and he could see three guards in his field of vision. Neither Stockman nor Hun had arrived yet. He had no time to lose. When April had contacted him, he had immediately given her the green light, not even taking the time to properly say goodbye. A few seconds later, he had felt the transmitter disintegrate and the chain bounding him fall to the floor.

Finally free of his movements, the blue-clad ninja set into motion and launched himself at the nearest guard before the humans had a chance to recover from their surprise. He pulled his gun off and kicked him in his stomach, efficiently sending him to the floor. He spun round and used the gun has a projectile to knock the second guard out. The third guard had the time to shoot once before Leonardo slipped behind him and paralyzed him with a few well-placed pressure points.

 _So far, it has been rather easy,_ the blue-clad ninja thought.

He had to revise his judgement when the alarm began running. Leonardo bit his lip. Having no way to know that it was his brother's doing, he wondered what had triggered it. If it had been April's little electromagnetic explosion, it would have set off earlier. Shaking his head, the blue-clad turtle silently left the room.

He could already hear shouts from one side of the hallway. Therefore, he chose the other side and began running. His progression was hindered by the fact he kept opening and closing doors to find his way through the maze that was Stockman's facility, and by the regular presence of armed guards. For one reason or another, they seemed to consider that it was their duty to stop him. Leonardo steadily kept demonstrating to them that it wasn't a very good idea, and left in his wake men in various states of unconsciousness and more than a few clutching sensitive parts of their anatomy.

Despite his apparent ease in defeating those enemies, Leonardo's anxiety was growing. He had already spent too much time wandering in the corridors, and Stockman was probably planning a counter-attack. What's more, he had only met groups of three to five men. This could change.

As if on cue, Leonardo ran into a larger group of guards. They watched him with exclamations of utter surprise. With a grown, Leonardo turned round and opened the nearest door. He realized too late that the guards hadn't seemed to be expecting him – they were guarding something. Something like the huge room he was running into, with its panel control and its alien devices.

 _Great,_ Leonardo thought. _Right into the lion's den._

He noticed the other group of guards right in front of him and inwardly cursed. Stopping before he ran into them, he wondered if his escape attempt would remain that, a mere attempt.

* * *

On the other side of the room and unbeknown to Leonardo, his three brothers and an extra Michelangelo were watching him with dismay.

"We need to get in there, and fast!" Raphael exclaimed, his concern obvious. "They are too numerous and Leo isn't even armed! He needs our help!"

He was running at the door to exit the airlock and find another way inside the huge room where Leonardo was – there was obviously an easier access on the opposite side or his brother wouldn't have been able to enter it – when that door opened to allow armed men inside.

The four turtles immediately pulled their weapons out and began to fight. The airlock was a small room and so was the door, which meant their opponents could only get inside two at a time. However, the turtles couldn't take the risk to step backwards and touch the lasers.

Leonardo's brothers were moving together with ease, using their weapons with precision and efficiency without getting in each other's way. The other Michelangelo looked at them in awe. He was standing alone in the opposite corner of the room, so he wouldn't disturb them. They didn't need help anyway. He had tried to fight with them at the beginning, but Raphael's furious shout when he had tripped over the chain of the orange-clad turtle's nunchuk had quickly dissuaded Michelangelo. _I would be more help if the room was larger,_ he thought with regret. _Then I could move without getting in their way._

He looked back at the room behind the lasers. Leonardo had set into motion again, and several guards were already on the floor. From where he stood, Michelangelo only saw a blur of green where Leonardo was moving _. He's really fast_ , he thought with admiration. _But they are still too many._

Raphael had noticed it too.

"Donnie," the red-clad turtle suddenly asked his brother. "How do these lasers work?"

Donatello anxiously looked at him while dodging a nasty blow.

"What does it matter? I can't switch them off! Of course, I'm glad to see you showing some interest for science, but you really should consider choosing a better time to…"

"Just answer the question, Donnie!" Raphael exclaimed with exasperation. His sai moved fast and another guard lost his gun.

Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Fine! The red lasers are here for the decoration, the invisible lasers recognize biological material and the not-triggered-yet lasers cut said biological material into thin, thin slices. Happy now?"

"So," Raphael calmly went on, "Non-biological material could get through them without damage, right?"

Donatello tilted his head.

"Yes, but we are biological material, Raph. Your thick skull included."

Raphael sent him an unfazed glance. He took his two sai in one hand and unsheathed Leonardo's katana, which he had carried across two dimensions, with the other. In a single move, he sent the twin blades through the lasers in Leonardo's direction.

Donatello's mouth dropped.

"Oh, I see," he muttered. "Nice move."

Raphael grinned at him before turning again towards their assailants.

* * *

Leonardo's heart recognized the familiar whistling before his mind did. On instinct, he extended his arms and closed his hands on the hilts of the weapons he had missed so much. He couldn't believe it. These katana were really, truly his. Yet he had left them in his own universe. Despite the severity of his situation, he felt his heart fill with joy. It could only mean one thing: somehow, his brothers had found him and brought him his beloved weapons back.

His brothers had found him!

And they were there right now.

Leonardo's emotions went from one extreme to the other when he realized this. His brothers were there, caught somewhere in this mess. Because they were searching for him. Leonardo looked at the opposite side of the room, where his katana had been thrown from. All he could see was a red glow. He gritted his teeth, his determination renewed and his tiredness vanishing. He had almost been considering surrendering – he would be of no use to anyone if he died here - and he was trying to find a way to explain this to the guards without getting shot, but this wouldn't be a solution now. There was no way he would let Stockman or Hun or anyone else lay their disgusting fingers on his beloved brothers.

 _Plus,_ Leonardo thought with ferocious glee, swirling his weapons in a graceful arc, _we're evenly matched now._

Launching himself in a dangerous dance, he began moving closer to the red glow.

* * *

Behind the lasers, the Michelangelo who wasn't Leonardo's brother was watching him, his mouth dropped. _And I had thought he was fast before,_ he managed to think. The guards were falling one after the other, and a few minutes later, Leonardo lowered his weapons. He was the last one standing in the room. Michelangelo saw him run to them. His brothers had seen it too.

"Leo!" Donatello shouted. "Don't touch the lasers!"

"Guys!" Leonardo shouted, his voice cracking slightly. He had stopped inches from the laser wall. "You came! How?"

"Of course we came, Leo!" His brother Michelangelo exclaimed happily. "Did you think we would let you have all the fun?"

Laying on the floor, the orange-clad turtle slid between Donatello's legs and tripped two opponents in a single move.

Raphael laughed with relief at seeing his brother in one healthy piece.

"Yeah, Leo. It was really mean from you to invade an enemy's facility without us," he joked.

Leonardo laughed too. He was feeling better than he had in days. He was only separated from his brothers by a stupid laser wall now, when just a few minutes ago he still thought they were on another universe. The blue-clad turtle looked at his side of the wall. There were two buttons next to the lasers, a green with the word 'ON' and a red with the word 'OFF' written in capital letters.

 _Thanks for the hint,_ he thought. He pushed the red button and the lasers vanished.

"Yes!" His brother Michelangelo exclaimed before launching himself at him, hugging him with strength.

Leonardo laughed.

"I'm glad to see you too, Mikey, but maybe we could take care of these guys first?" He told his orange-clad brother, motioning to the armed guards still regularly entering the room.

"Yes, Mikey!" Raphael shouted, sending another enemy back with a powerful kick. "Thanks for abandoning us!"

Michelangelo disentangled himself from Leonardo.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He sighed theatrically. "You would have thought that they would have got it by now. Why do they even keep coming?"

"Yes, why?" Leonardo repeated, his smile vanishing. His mind went back to the matter at hand. They had to leave this place.

"Guys, come here," he said.

Raphael, Donatello and the other Michelangelo did so without question. As soon as they were on the other side of the previously active laser wall, Leonardo pushed the green button and the lasers reappeared.

"Let's hope these guys don't have the required swipe card," Donatello deadpanned.

Leonardo shrugged.

"Yeah, let's hope," he said, his eyes discreetly checking his brothers up for possible injuries. They seemed to be fine. Relief flooded him.

He smiled at Raphael, who still had his katana's sheaths.

"I suppose you're the one who threw them? Thanks, brother. Your timing was perfect."

Raphael smiled back, giving the sheaths back to his brother.

"It looked like they would be more useful to you than to me."

Leonardo strapped them again at his back and sheathed his weapons. Feeling whole again, he began running to the other entrance of the room. The others followed him.

"How did you come in, by the way?" He asked with curiosity.

"By the rooftops," his brother Michelangelo explained. "His Raph," Michelangelo indicated his double, "and their Casey are fighting the guards outside. Their Donnie is at the lair."

"Was he the one who deactivated Stockman's security system?" Leonardo raised a brow, curious to know. His brothers exchanged sheepish glances.

The other Michelangelo helpfully answered.

"Nope. We didn't deactivate the security system. In fact, we set off the alarm right away!"

Leonardo blinked, not believing his ears.

" _What?_ "

He turned to his brothers, frowning. He couldn't really complain – they had come in to save him, after all – but he wasn't happy about what he heard. This didn't sound like a well-prepared plan. At least he knew why the alarm had rung now.

"We will have to work on emergency plans for rescuing people like ninja are supposed to, _stealthily_ ," he pointed out dangerously calmly.

His brothers looked away, apparently focusing on avoiding the unconscious bodies of the guards.

"What I don't understand is why Stockman didn't try to stop you before you arrived here," Leonardo mused. "I would have thought that his facility would have been more secure."

"A very good question, my dear guest," Stockman's voice echoed from a loudspeaker. "I must say that you are full of surprises, turtle. I will want to know how you escaped, and why there are five of you now. Six if I count the one outside."

Leonardo clenched his fists. He stopped.

"It's a trap," he stated calmly. He's waiting for us outside this room. But why didn't his minions come inside? Except the ones who were already guarding it, that is."

Donatello seemed to have reached the same conclusion. He ran to one of the Kraang devices.

"Maybe he doesn't want them to risk damaging this equipment," the purple-clad turtle suggested. "Maybe the guards you fought had some kind of special training. Look, despite all the shooting, nothing is damaged here."

Leonardo looked around and realized that his brother was right. His eyes fell on the control panel.

"Maybe it's some sort of control room," he said. "Donnie, can you look at the control panel here? Perhaps you can do something to help us get away."

"No, no, no!" Stockman shouted with rage. "Come out, turtles! Are you afraid to face me?"

The five turtles ignored him and ran to the control panel. Donatello frowned and stuck his tongue out, his agile fingers already tapping on the buttons. He gasped.

"You're right, Leo," he exclaimed. "It is a control room. And these devices here…"

Suddenly, the turtles heard a loud buzz. Pink lights switched on.

"…they are Kraang portals," Donatello finished with horror.

Leonardo had already unsheathed his katana and was standing between the portals and the control panel, Raphael and the two Michelangelo at his sides.

"Great," he muttered through gritted teeth. "Just great."

* * *

When the alien robots with brains in their stomach began exiting the portals, the Michelangelo of this world couldn't believe his eyes. He had never seen anything like it. Raphael had thrown one of his sai in the head of the first one, and since then they were shooting at them.

"Are these the Kraang?" He exclaimed, a little too happily.

"Yes," Leonardo answered him. "Watch out!" He added, pushing the orange-clad turtle out of the way of a laser shot.

"Has the one who is known as the one who stores that what is known as merchandise betrayed Kraang, Kraang?" One of the robots said.

"It would appear so, Kraang," Another answered. "It would appear that the ones known as the humans can't be used to do what is known as an alliance."

Michelangelo beamed.

"They are awesome!" He exclaimed, his nunchuks at the ready.

"Nooooo!" Stockman shouted. "Turtles, how could you? Do you know how much time it took me to conclude this alliance? I will destroy you!"

Kraang after Kraang entered the room, until it was filled with robots. Michelangelo tilted his head.

"But they are a little too numerous for my taste."

"For mine also," Raphael shouted. He was fighting three opponents at once. "Leo, what's the plan?"

Michelangelo looked at the blue-clad turtle with curiosity. Was he in charge here?

"Donnie, try to shut these portals down. Raph, you cover him. Mikey and Mikey, you're with me. We will take down as many of them as we can," Leonardo ordered.

His brothers nodded. However, the Michelangelo who wasn't his brother looked at him sheepishly.

"Uh, maybe it would be best if I fought on my own," he suggested. "You know, so I don't get in your way."

"No way," Leonardo said firmly. "No one goes solo today. I'll adapt to your fighting style. It's not very different from my Mikey's. Don't mind me and hit every enemy standing in your way."

"Will do!" Michelangelo exclaimed, happy to have something to do. Something fun, as far as he was concerned.

The blue-clad turtle turned to his own Michelangelo and indicated the ceiling with one of his katana.

"Mikey, hang from the cables and point out the Kraang that seems to be in charge," he said. "Let's confuse them as much as we can."

His brother nodded and used his weapon to reach the ceiling.

The other Michelangelo began fighting. Despite the situation, he was feeling perfectly at ease. Somehow, Leonardo managed to fight beside him and guard his back without getting in the way. Above them, Leonardo's brother was pointing out robots while swinging and using his kusarigama to make their enemies trip. _Is this what Raph feels when he's fighting with Casey?_ The orange-clad turtle of this world asked himself. _No wonder he likes it so much._

He turned to face Leonardo.

"Is this what teamwork is supposed to be like? Because I think I like it!"

Leonardo pushed him down and decapitated a robot who had intended to shoot at Michelangelo from behind.

"Yes, Mikey, it is," he answered in a tense tone. "Now focus!"

* * *

Donatello was having a hard time deciphering Stockman's code for the control panel. He worked as fast as he could. He had disconnected his earpiece earlier to avoid hearing his double panic at the other end of the line. The other Donatello had no way to know what was happening and Leonardo's brother felt a little guilty. _But I need to focus on this,_ he thought. Behind him, he could hear Raphael panting. His brother was doing a very efficient job in protecting him, and Donatello rarely had to dodge a blow or hit a robot's head himself. The purple-clad turtle took a deep breath and tried to enter another sequence of key words on the control panel.

Somewhere in the room, a phone rang. The Michelangelo who wasn't Leonardo's brother picked it up with one hand and went on fighting with the other.

"Hello, Donnie?"

The orange-clad turtle grimaced and moved the phone away from his ear.

"No need to shout like this, bro! I'm not deaf! And it's not my fault if your double disconnected you!"

Leonardo sent him a quick glance.

"It's your Donnie?"

Michelangelo nodded.

"Pass me the phone," the blue-clad turtle ordered, sheathing one of his katana.

The orange-clad turtle obeyed without discussion. There was an authority about Leonardo right now that just made it impossible.

"Hi, Donnie," Leonardo said.

He listened to the other turtle's outraged cries without a blink.

"I'll tell him. By the way, can you connect to the police radio transmission? Yes? Then please do it and tell me if they are aware of what's happening here."

While he was awaiting Donatello's response, Leonardo motioned to the two Michelangelo that they should start heading back for the control panel.

"… Ten minutes? We have ten minutes before the police arrive and investigate the brawl that Raph and Casey started?"

The blue-clad turtle closed his eyes for one brief second. If the police closed the district off, they would have a hard time getting to safety, even if they managed to leave that building.

"Thanks. I'll give the phone to my Donnie. Don't shout at him, he's already stressed enough. And don't worry about your Mikey…" Leonardo glanced at the orange-clad turtle beside him, who grinned at him. "…He's fine."

Getting closer to Raphael and Donatello, he sent the phone to his own purple-clad brother.

"Donnie!" Leonardo shouted. "Can you plug it to Stockman's system so the other Donnie can help you with this? We have only ten minutes before the police arrive!"

Donatello cursed. He caught the phone with ease and reconnected his earpiece with a sigh.

"It's worth a try."

Between the two of them, the Donatello managed to open the control panel administrator files. Leonardo's purple-clad brother whistled.

"Finally! This guy has an impressive list of emergency procedures. Wait a minute…"

"Less than a minute, please, Donnie," Leonardo shouted. He hoped that the flow of Kraang would soon run out. He could tell that everyone was tiring out fast.

"Here it is!" Donatello exclaimed. "The Kraang portals shutdown emergency procedure!"

The purple-clad turtle pushed a button and the pink lights died. The Kraang screamed.

"Well done, Donnie!" Leonardo shouted. "Do you see an emergency procedure about exoskeletons somewhere?"

Donatello tilted his head.

"Uh, yes. Do you want me to activate it?"

"Yes!" Leonardo answered. "And now, everyone to the door!"

The five turtles quickly retreated with Leonardo in front and Raphael in the rearguard. Leonardo risked a glance on the other side of the door, and a satisfied smile escaped his lips. _I guess the welcoming committee will be too busy with their dysfunctional exoskeletons and the remaining Kraang to pay us any attention now,_ he thought.

"Perfect. Donnie, where is the exit?"

Donatello listened to his earpiece and nodded.

"This way!"

The other turtles followed him, the two Michelangelo happily stamping on some of the guards. Leonardo caught sight of Hun roaring in a corner, his exoskeleton refusing to obey his commands.

 _This probably won't help our relationship,_ the blue-clad turtle thought wryly.

The five turtles reached the front door without further difficulties. They could hear a police siren, but the police wasn't here yet. The other Raphael and Casey Jones were waiting for them, proudly standing at the bottom of an impressive pile of unconscious men.

"Mikey!" The red-clad turtle of this world exclaimed, running to his own brother. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, bro!" His Michelangelo beamed at him. "It was awesome, much better than last time!"

"Hurry, we have to leave now!" Leonardo told them, already at the nearest manhole with his three brothers.

The Raphael who wasn't his brother looked at him, frowning.

"Who do you think you are to order me around?" He began.

His Michelangelo pushed him and Casey. "Not now, Raph! Can't you just appreciate the fact that we're all uninjured? Let's go!"

And so four newly reunited brothers, an overexcited Michelangelo, a sulking Raphael and a perplexed Casey Jones disappeared into the sewers.

After Leonardo deemed them to be far enough of Stockman's facility, he stopped running and turned to his brothers, smiling.

"Leo, can we hug now?" Michelangelo demanded, stopping beside him and grinning madly.

Leonardo laughed. He couldn't believe that he had escaped. He couldn't believe that Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo were with him right now.

"Yes, Mikey. We can hug now."

The orange-clad turtle didn't need to be told twice, and he wrapped his arms around his brother's shell. Leonardo closed his eyes to better enjoy this much needed comfort and extended his arms to Raphael and Donatello, who quickly joined the hug – after the red-clad turtle had sent a threatening glare to Casey and the other Michelangelo and Raphael, daring them to laugh at him and his brothers. But they didn't, even moving a few feet away to allow the four turtles to enjoy their family reunion.

Leonardo rested his head on Raphael's shoulder, Michelangelo still huddled against his plastron, while Donatello's arms encircled them all.

"Thanks, guys," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. "Thanks for finding me in time."

He felt their hold on him tighten even more, as if they were never going to let him go, and during these few seconds Leonardo was home again.


	18. Crowded Lair

When the six mutants and the human boy entered the lair, both Donatello and Splinter sighed with relief. They had known that everyone was fine and that Leonardo had been found, but it was one thing to learn about it on the phone and another thing to see everyone standing in front of them, safe and sound.

Donatello ran to his Michelangelo and Raphael.

"Are you alright?" He couldn't help but ask.

Michelangelo beamed at him.

"Yes, bro. It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!"

Splinter frowned at this statement. Raphael crossed his arms. He was still sulking, strangely jealous that his Michelangelo had been fighting with the four strangers. The orange-clad turtle had been happily bouncing since then, a huge smile never leaving his face.

Their Donatello couldn't help feeling a little envious too. When he had chosen to stay at the lair, he hadn't realized that he would want to be at his brother's side so badly. When his double had disconnected him, the helplessness he had experienced had been almost too much. If his brother Michelangelo hadn't answered his phone, maybe he would have run madly to Stockman's facility just to do something.

A few feet behind them, Leonardo and his brothers stood side by side. The blue-clad turtle stepped forward and bowed to the four mutants and the human boy of their host world.

"Thank you for helping my brothers to find me," he said solemnly.

The Michelangelo of this world smiled at him.

"I'm glad I could help. And meeting these Kraang aliens was awesome!"

His Raphael frowned.

"What aliens?"

Michelangelo opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off by his brother Donatello. Now that everyone was back in the lair, the purple-clad turtle couldn't restrain himself any longer and he asked Leonardo the pressing question that was on his mind.

"Did you learn anything about April?"

Leonardo smiled.

"Yes, I did. But it's quite a long story, and I also want to hear your part. Not to mention that I'm quite famished right now. So maybe it could wait a few minutes?"

The Donatello who wasn't his brother bit his lip. He almost wanted to shake the blue-clad turtle and force him to speak right now, even if he knew how selfish it would have been. But his double was already taking Leonardo's arm and leading him to the kitchen, their Raphael following them closely.

"Of course! When was your last meal? Did they even feed you in there?"

The Michelangelo of this world took his phone.

"I'm famished too. I will order pizza for everyone!"

"I'll help you choose them," Leonardo's orange-clad brother offered. He was ready to forgive the three turtles of this strange world now that Leonardo was with his family again.

Splinter stroked his beard.

"It's probably a good idea. You've all deserved some rest."

He looked at his purple-clad son.

"Donatello, while I understand your concern, I am sure that you will not object to it."

Donatello sighed.

"Of course not, Sensei."

He, Raphael and Casey Jones followed the ninja master to the kitchen, where Leonardo's purple-clad brother was opening the cupboards.

"Where is the kettle in this lair?"

The Raphael of this world grunted.

"Of course, make yourself at home," he said wryly. "Don't mind us."

Leonardo's own Raphael looked at him defiantly.

"We will, thank you very much. After all, you owe us for making Leo run away in the first place," he answered in an angry tone.

His double was about to answer and it probably would have escalated from here, but both Michelangelo entered the kitchen and diverted everyone's attention.

The ordered pizzas were delivered soon after that, and the seven turtles and Casey Jones ate with appetite.

After that, Leonardo's Donatello examined his blue-clad brother, all the while admonishing him while their Michelangelo and Raphael watched the scene without trying to hide their amusement.

"Why didn't you tell us right away that they had drugged you? It _is_ an important piece of information!" The purple-clad turtle kept repeating, not even listening to Leonardo's poor attempts at convincing him that he was perfectly fine.

When they were done and Leonardo had resigned himself to offering his humblest apologies to Donatello, which seemed to satisfy the purple-clad turtle, everyone went to the dojo to exchange their respective stories.

Everyone gasped when Leonardo told them how he had talked with April.

The Donatello of this world was the most thrilled.

"She telepathically contacted you? She's amazing!"

He was also the most upset when he learned that April had been caught and was grounded, especially when Leonardo was unable to provide him with any detail. He stood up and began pacing.

"What do you mean, you don't know where she is? What if she is facing a terrible danger right now, all alone?"

His Michelangelo made him sit down again.

"Donnie, calm down. You heard what Leo said. She was convinced that she wasn't in immediate danger. Let's hear the rest of his story."

Donatello winced and nodded.

After everyone had told his tale, a heavy silence fell on the dojo.

Splinter, his son Raphael and Casey Jones had been upset when they had learned about the fight inside Stockman's facility, especially Raphael who hadn't believed in the Kraang existence.

Leonardo's brother Michelangelo had been delighted to hear about Leatherhead's – or the Gator man, like April called him - existence. Even the fact that he had knocked Leonardo down and had ultimately, although unintentionally, been responsible for his capture didn't diminish his joy.

Leonardo had been eager to know what had happened on his world and how his brothers had managed to find him. He had listened intently to their tale, automatically wrapping his arm around Michelangelo's shoulders when they had explained the playing-with-dangerous-alien-technology thing and his orange-clad brother had guiltily whispered "It wasn't my fault, it never did that before" in a tone that Leonardo knew meant "I really hope it's not, but I'm not so sure, so will you please forgive me, just in case?"

Both Donatello were trying to figure out what had happened between April, Kraang technology and two dimensions, and getting a headache in return.

Leonardo's brother Raphael was keeping a close eye on the blue-clad turtle, as if he expected his brother to suddenly disappear again. He hadn't forgotten what he had heard of Leonardo's adventures with these other turtles. They hadn't precisely explained why Leonardo had run away, and Raphael intended to find out the truth. He would question his brother about it later, when they would be alone.

Master Splinter finally broke the silence.

"These events are quite unexpected, and very disturbing indeed."

The rat master looked at the four turtles of another universe, his expression revealing nothing of his feelings.

"You four are welcome here, for as long as you have to stay in our world. I hope that you will be able to go back to your own universe soon."

"Thanks, Master Splinter," the four turtles chorused. Leonardo's tone, although very respectful, was still slightly colder than usual, and his brothers exchanged meaningful glances. Raphael guessed that Michelangelo and Donatello too wanted to question Leonardo about what had happened when he had been alone in this world.

Splinter turned to his own sons.

"After what happened, Stockman will certainly be looking for you. The surface has just become even more dangerous for you three. You will have to be even more cautious."

The ninja master raised an eyebrow.

"Can I trust you to avoid any kind of trouble in the days to come?"

His sons looked at him with angelic expressions.

"Of course, Sensei," they pretended.

Master Splinter sighed. He would have grounded them in the lair, but it would be crowded with seven teenage mutant ninja turtles and the wise rat knew such a decision could only lead to disaster.

He turned to Casey Jones.

"Thanks again for your help. I hope that you will help my son Raphael to stay away from trouble," he said resignedly. The situation was dire indeed if he had to ask that from Casey Jones.

The young boy grinned.

"Of course, Master Splinter. Don't worry."

Master Splinter inhaled deeply.

"Very well. I suggest that you all get some sleep. Tomorrow, we can… yes, Donatello?" Master Splinter gently addressed his purple-clad son, who had been looking at him intently for the past few minutes.

"Father, what about April? We need to find her!" Donatello asked, his fists clenched.

Master Splinter closed his eyes. He wasn't surprised that his son was focusing on the fate of the young girl.

"We can discuss this tomorrow, my son."

Donatello turned towards Leonardo.

"You promised that you would help me to find her," he said, almost accusingly. "And she helped you. What are you going to do now?"

"I did, and I will," Leonardo answered calmly. "We just need time to think about it."

Donatello went on, his anxiety making him blind to Leonardo's stern expression.

"But time is of the essence. She could be suffering right now! Are you really willing to help her, or do you just think of her as the key to bring you home?"

Leonardo's brothers gasped. Leonardo's blue eyes sparkled when he calmly answered.

"Even if I only recently met her, I care deeply about her. She saved my life. Besides, our April is family. We would not abandon her double."

Maybe Donatello didn't want to be convinced, because he frowned and opened his mouth to answer. But the Michelangelo who wasn't from this world spoke before him.

"Dude, if Leo said he would, then he will."

The orange-clad turtle shrugged.

"If you knew him at all, you would know that he is true to his word. I think it has something to do with his rigid conception of honor…"

Michelangelo's teasing had the intended effect and he felt Leonardo relax at his side.

"It's not rigid, it's reliable," the blue-clad turtle protested.

Michelangelo just grinned at him.

A few seconds later, Master Splinter wished them all a good night, Casey said goodbye and the three turtles of this universe left for their rooms. Leonardo wondered if they were going to discuss the recent events in private. He shrugged. He didn't feel excluded anymore, not with his own brothers around him.

The four turtles settled in the living room for the night, tangling on the couch like they did when they were mere children. When they were all comfortably nestled against each other, Raphael's whisper echoed in the silence.

"Leo. What happened with them? Why did you run away?"

Leonardo knew that Donatello and Michelangelo were listening with attention. Though it was unavoidable, he didn't want to have this conversation right now.

"Raph, I'm tired. Can't it wait until morning?" He yawned.

"Fine," Raphael grumbled. "But don't you think that I will give up. You know how stubborn I can be."

Though Leonardo's response was mostly indistinct, Raphael thought he heard the word 'hothead'. He smiled and drifted into sleep, lulled by the sound of his brothers' breathing.

_Four. We are four again._


	19. Culture Shock

Next morning, Leonardo woke up first. At least, he thought he woke up first until he heard Raphael's voice whispering in his ear.

"So, it's morning. What happened?"

Leonardo jumped, efficiently waking Donatello and Michelangelo up. Or did he? Donatello's eyes weren't usually that clear first thing in the morning, nor was Michelangelo's expression so focused. Leonardo sent a reproachful glance to Raphael. The red-clad turtle smiled smugly.

"Come on, Leo, we're all dying to hear the details you conveniently left out yesterday. You owe us that much for getting captured," Raphael added and looked intensely at his blue-clad brother.

"Yeah, Leo, you had us really worried," Michelangelo interjected.

"So just start talking," Donatello finished.

Leonardo sighed and disentangled himself from the others. He wasn't going to get out of this embarrassing conversation this time.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

Raphael shrugged.

"Everything, of course. But especially why you ran away…"

"Yeah, they told us that you were pretty upset…uh…" Michelangelo bit his lip.

Leonardo blushed.

"It's okay, Leo, we would have been too," Michelangelo soothed him. "Just tell us about it."

"And don't leave out the reason why you were talking coldly to their Master Splinter," Donatello added.

Leonardo groaned. He had been subtle, hadn't he? Why did his brothers have to be so observant?

He took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But first, you have to know how different things are here…"

Leonardo talked for a long time, explaining to his brothers everything he had learned about this world and especially every detail he had gathered about the other Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo's life. His brothers' eyes widened at the mention of the separate trainings.

"Really?" Michelangelo exclaimed. "And they are all happy with it?"

"It would appear so," Leonardo shrugged. "But I can't say it's a success. They have a hard time fighting together."

"We'd had too before Master Splinter began to train us specifically for that," Donatello pointed out. "And the fact that we had a purpose helped too. Not to mention your own role in forging us into a team."

"I can understand why my double would have wanted his own training," Raphael mused. "No offence, but you two weren't much of a challenge when you were younger," he added to Donatello and Michelangelo, who both frowned.

Leonardo tactfully changed the subject.

"Anyway, I missed training. And it didn't help that I hadn't my katana, nor did it that their Splinter didn't trust me to borrow weapons in their armory. That's why I was slightly cold towards him yesterday."

The blue-clad turtle hoped that they would buy it. He really didn't want to tell them about his first conversation with Splinter. _It's private,_ he thought. He quickly went on. Now came the part that he dreaded.

"So, I was so happy when I first got to train with them that I forgot about a few important things… uh… like Raphael's temper. He lost a fight that he didn't expect to lose, and he snapped. As things had been up and down between us, and considering I was without news from you and it worried me pretty much, I felt upset and I left the lair to calm down. I… I may have been a little incautious in the process."

"Expand on the up and down part," Raphael calmly demanded.

Leonardo bit his lip. He didn't want his brother to get mad at his double. It wouldn't help their situation.

"Do it or I'll confront him right now," Raphael clarified, still very calm. Not a good sign, not a good sign at all. Leonardo gulped. He was cornered. He came closer to his red-clad brother, ready to restrain him, and did what Raphael asked from him.

* * *

The Michelangelo of this world couldn't sleep. The day before, he had talked with his brothers for a long time, telling them again and again everything he had seen and done during Leonardo's rescue mission. He had emphasized that the four other turtles were obviously used to fighting together and enthusiastically described Leonardo's fighting skills. However, he could tell that Raphael hadn't been convinced and that Donatello was reserving his judgement. Michelangelo shook his head, irritated. Sometimes, he almost regretted being famous for his exaggerating skills. _I'll wait until they see him fight too,_ he thought. _Then they will have to acknowledge that I wasn't exaggerating this time._

The orange-clad turtle sighed and rolled over in his bed. After his discussion with his brothers, he had stolen a glance at the four turtles of that other dimension, peacefully sleeping on the couch. He couldn't help feeling slightly jealous. They looked so close like this, nestled against each other so that each of them was in physical contact with the three others. Michelangelo couldn't remember the last time he and his brothers had cuddled like this, or even the last time Raphael had willingly participated in a hug. He missed it. He had believed that it was simply the growing up process – how he could hate it at times - and that Raphael just wasn't the hugging type like his awesome brother Michelangelo, but the other Raphael hadn't seemed to be ashamed of showing his affection toward Leonardo yesterday. Of course, the situation was highly specific.

Michelangelo's thinking was interrupted by a suspicious bump coming from the living room. Curious, he got up and ran to the main room of the lair. When he entered the room, his eyes widened at the scene before him.

Leonardo and Raphael were wrestling on the floor, Leonardo covering his brother's mouth with his hand.

"Don't shout, you'll wake them up!" The blue-clad turtle whispered.

Raphael pushed Leonardo's arm away, only to end up pinned to the ground.

"I'm going to kill him!" The red-clad turtle whispered back angrily. "Who does he think he is, to treat you like that?"

"He's in his home, while I'm a complete stranger," Leonardo answered through gritted teeth.

"It's not an excuse, Leo," their Michelangelo interjected.

He and Donatello were watching the scene, arms crossed.

"Well he has a bad temper, nothing new. You have to… oh, hi, Mikey," Leonardo said in a desperate tone when he noticed the figure watching them.

His three brothers turned toward the Michelangelo of this world.

The orange-clad turtle bit his lip.

"Uh, hello. Sorry to interrupt. I think I'll leave now," he said awkwardly.

Before he could retreat to the safety of his own room, Raphael sighed on the floor and sulkily pushed Leonardo away. The blue-clad turtle released him and stood up, offering his hand. The red-clad turtle took it and stood up before turning to the Michelangelo who wasn't his brother.

"Wait," Raphael told him grudgingly. "I didn't want to scare you."

Michelangelo hesitated. Raphael didn't seem to be mad at him, which was good. The orange-clad turtle had also seen him fight yesterday, and he definitely didn't want to cross the powerful turtle.

"Please don't kill my Raph," he pleaded, half-mocking and half-serious. "I really care about him, you know."

Raphael exchanged a meaningful glance with Leonardo before rolling his eyes.

"Fine. I'll try not to, but I'm still kicking his butt. The sooner the better."

Leonardo moaned.

"I can do it myself if I want to, thank you very much."

"Stay out of this, you're not affected," Raphael replied, half-smiling. "It's between myself and I."

"How am I not affected?" Leonardo began to protest.

The Michelangelo who wasn't their brother watched them with the shadow of a smile. It looked like these two liked to bicker.

His double noticed his reaction and smiled at him, while Donatello shook his head, hiding his amusement.

"In five minutes, they'll be sparring in the dojo. What about cooking breakfast?"

This time, Michelangelo's smile was huge.

"You're reading my mind."

* * *

The Raphael of this world woke up in a bad mood. It took him some time to remember why. _Ah, yes. Mikey kept singing these other turtles' praises yesterday. It got on my nerves,_ he thought. The red-clad turtle grouched and got up. _Especially Leo's. I don't see why, it was pure luck that he won his fight with me… He won't surprise me again._

Raphael left his room and immediately sniffed the delicious smell of pancakes being cooked. It lifted his spirits. On his way to the kitchen, he noticed his brother Donatello standing in the doorway of the dojo, absorbed in watching the scene inside. Curious, Raphael joined him. When he saw what was happening, the red-clad turtle gaped.

Inside the dojo, Leonardo and his brother Raphael were sparring, each one using his respective weapons. The clash of metal against metal resounded, giving rhythm to their dangerous dance. Counterattacks came after attacks while the two brothers spun and jumped so fast that their feet seemed to barely touch the floor.

"And they're not even taking this fight seriously," the Donatello of this world whispered to his red-clad brother with incredulity.

His Raphael could only agree, considering that the two fighters were both smiling madly, obviously enjoying themselves immensely.

Without warning, they suddenly stopped and sheathed their weapons.

"Breakfast time," Leonardo's brother Raphael said. "You're lucky we have to stop now. I was winning."

"No you weren't," Leonardo answered. "But it is breakfast time, if I judge by the smell."

When they left the dojo, Leonardo's red-clad brother sent a murderous glance to the other Raphael.

The red-clad turtle of this world winced and reached for his sai. But his double overtook him without a word.

Donatello let out a whistle.

"Well, that was quite a show. I must confess I didn't believe Mikey before, but now…"

The purple-clad turtle shook his head.

"No offense, Raph, but there is no way you could have beaten Leo. Nor could you beat his Raphael, who seems to be really mad at you, by the way."

Raphael clenched his fists. Without bothering to answer, he stomped back to his bedroom and slammed the door with force.

His purple-clad brother watched his angry departure pensively before heading for the kitchen.


	20. Plans

When breakfast was over and the turtles met in the dojo to begin planning their next move, the Raphael of this world still hadn't left his room. His brother Michelangelo had tried to bring him a food offering, but it had been brutally refused. An unlucky plate had paid for Raphael's frustration. Michelangelo had shrugged and quickly dismissed the incident, gobbling the abandoned pancakes without regard for their new garniture of dust. He never wasted food.

"He will join us later," he told the others, his mouth full.

The four turtles of another dimension exchanged skeptic glances.

"Did he tell you so?" Leonardo's brother Michelangelo muttered. "It certainly didn't sound this way."

The other Michelangelo rolled his eyes.

"It's in the Raph to English dictionary, at the entry 'Breaking dishes without storming out of the lair to hang out with Casey', a must-have for all mutant turtles."

His double nodded solemnly.

"I have one too."

Leonardo's brother Raphael sighed and pretended to smack his Michelangelo on the head. The orange-clad turtle easily avoided the blow and grinned at him.

Leonardo shook his head.

"Alright, let's begin without him."

The six turtles sat in a circle, leaving an empty space for the missing hothead. The Donatello of this world nervously rubbed his hands.

"I have searched the Internet for mentions of April and her father. I found the usual: schools for her, conferences and workshops for him. There are no recent articles, but I found no mention of their disappearance, which is strange."

The tall ninja tapped his chin.

"I also broke into the police files. Neither Kirby O'Neil nor April O'Neil are reported missing."

His double from another dimension mirrored his gesture.

"It means that Stockman probably has allies in the police."

The Donatello of this world nodded.

"Yes. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me. But I have also searched the files that _we_ accessed during the rescue mission - after _you_ condescended to accept my much needed help…"

The purple-clad turtle glared at his double, who had hung up on him during the mission in question. Leonardo's brother pretended to ignore the barb.

"…and if they do mention Kirby O'Neil as a staff member, they keep mute about April herself."

His double went on.

"It doesn't mean anything, Stockman could have kept her file on a different computer…"

"… one that isn't connected to the main network," the Donatello of this world finished the sentence.

Leonardo's brother Michelangelo coughed. He decided to interrupt the Donatello's conversation before they had a chance to get really technical.

"Very interesting. Very, very interesting. Does this mean that you have no idea of April's whereabouts right now?"

The two geniuses looked at him with the same annoyed expression. Both answered at the same time.

"Yes."

The only Raphael in the room folded his arms. He made a mental note to thank Michelangelo for his intervention later. Maybe next time his brother pranked him, he would let him get by fine. Maybe.

"Very useful, thank you. What do we do, then?" He asked, turning to Leonardo.

The blue-clad turtle tilted his head.

"We need to gather information."

The Donatello of this world shook his head.

"Oh, really? And what do you think I've been doing?" He asked rhetorically.

Leonardo looked at him with amusement.

"First-hand information. Who is up to a little trip in the sewers? We're searching for a

giant mutant alligator."

* * *

The Raphael of this world was hitting his punching bag with regularity. He felt ashamed of the way he had acted towards Michelangelo earlier. It wasn't his brother's fault if Raphael felt so frustrated, so distressed, so… out of place. _In my own home_ , he thought angrily _._ The red-clad turtle had always considered himself as the best fighter in his home, leaving his brothers far behind. His father and sensei excepted, of course. He never had to work hard for that title.

But now – a punch – he was beginning to believe that he had been slacking off – another punch – because he had seen his double fight and he was so much _faster_ than himself – punch, punch, punch – he personally favored brute strength over agility – punch – but he knew, he _knew_ that his brother Donatello was right and he didn't stand a chance against the other Raphael, or against this – punch – _Leo_ – punch, punch, punch, punch, craaaack.

Raphael swore while the sand of his punching bag spread on the floor. Falling to his knees, he rested his head on the cold floor. A brush on his cheek made him groan, and he straightened up, carefully picking up the small turtle who was looking at him with wide eyes, a fresh lettuce leaf in his tiny mouth.

"It's not my fault, Spike," he complained. "If I had had a decent sparring partner, I would be just as good as my double," he added, openly confessing to his pet turtle what he had refused to acknowledge a moment ago. He was jealous.

Raphael sighed, releasing his anger for now. Deep down, he was eager to learn everything he could about these other turtles. Standing up, he placed Spike on his shoulder and left his room.

* * *

"I'm in!" Both Michelangelo exclaimed.

"I'll pass," Leonardo's brother Donatello said. "He and I don't get along so well."

"What do you pass?" A grudging voice asked.

Everyone turned to watch the Raphael of this world enter the dojo and sit down, completing the circle. He glared at the others, challenging them to comment his earlier behavior. The others wisely chose not to, even the other Raphael, who looked with melancholy at the tiny turtle on his double's shoulder.

"Hi, Raph," his brother Michelangelo welcomed him. "We're going alligator-hunting. Isn't it great?"

"Great isn't exactly the term I would have chosen, Mikey," Raphael answered, absent-mindedly stroking Spike's head. "Why would you do such a thing in the first place?"

"April told me that she was in contact with a mutant alligator, the same who knocked me out the other night," Leonardo answered. He secretly rejoiced in Raphael's choice to join them. "He could help us find her."

"That's actually a good idea," the Donatello of this world answered. "Except the sewers are vast. Where do we begin?"

Leonardo had already thought about it. He answered immediately.

"It doesn't matter. In fact, I think he will be the one to find us. I told April that I wanted to contact him. She probably already conveyed the message."

He looked at each of the turtles in turn.

"I suggest that we just patrol the sewers, in pairs."

"And who put you in charge?" The Raphael of this world grumbled.

Leonardo tensed. He avoided the question.

"It's just a suggestion. If you have a better idea…"

The red-clad turtle shrugged.

"Whatever. I could use some exercise anyway. Who's coming?"

"Everyone except our Donnie," Leonardo's brother Michelangelo answered. "Which means six turtles, which is an even number, which is more convenient to make pairs!" He added enthusiastically.

As if it was an afterthought, the orange-clad turtle tilted his head.

"Unless you don't want to come, and we would be an odd number! Which wouldn't be convenient at all! Will you help us?" He said in a pleading tone.

The Raphael of this world bit his lip. This Michelangelo looked so much like his own, and he was looking at him with big puppy-dog eyes… And his plea was soothing his hurt ego. The red-clad turtle yielded.

"Fine, I'm coming."

"As it is your world, it probably would be better to mix the pairs," Leonardo said pensively. "Just in case the sewers configuration wouldn't be exactly the same as in our world."

"I'll go with your Raph!" The Michelangelo of another world exclaimed.

"And I'll go with Leo!" His double added.

"Who said you could choose first?" Leonardo's red-clad brother complained. But then he noticed the other Donatello's restrained expression and he bit his lip. "I'll go with your Donnie then. If he's okay with it."

The Donatello of this world nodded briskly.

"Fine, it's settled then," Leonardo concluded. "Do we have phones for everyone?"

"Yes," his purple-clad brother answered. "In fact, you're the only one who hasn't one, considering you left it home," he added teasingly.

Leonardo looked sheepish and muttered something along the lines of 'But I was only watching TV'. Donatello patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, my double has a spare. Many spares, in fact. It seems that his brothers can be as careless as you three."

Both Michelangelo, both Raphael and the only Leonardo began to protest, while the other Donatello gravely nodded.

In no time at all, the six turtles were ready to leave. The Donatello of another dimension had requested – and obtained – his counterpart's permission to use his lab in the meantime, and he soon disappeared inside it. Just before, he had wished the other Donatello good luck with such solemnity that the poor purple-clad turtle was wondering what he was missing. And why had Leonardo's brother been so adamant in his decision to stay? The evil knowing grin of Leonardo's Michelangelo had done nothing to reassure him. He shrugged and shook his head. He would soon know what it was all about.

The Raphael of this world watched his future partner in crime. This Michelangelo seemed to be just as easy-going as his own brother. Maybe Raphael could get him to talk about his life? He distractedly registered that his own Michelangelo and Leonardo were already leaving, soon followed by his Donatello and the other Raphael.

The red-clad turtle squared his shoulders before setting into motion. _A giant mutant alligator, uh? And he knocked Leo down. I like him already._


	21. Confrontations

To Raphael's immense surprise, the Michelangelo of another dimension wasn't talkative at all. Both of them had been walking for almost an hour now, and each attempt of the red-clad turtle to start a conversation had lamely failed. Michelangelo would answer in a few derisive words and fell silent again.

Raphael finally had enough. He took a deep breath.

"I must say I didn't think you would be that different from my Mikey. He's a chatterbox. I guess I expected the same from you. My mistake."

Michelangelo sent him a quick glance and shook his head. Raphael was beginning to feel irritated.

"What's the matter, Mikey? Why did you ask me to come if you didn't want to talk to me?"

The orange-clad turtle absent-mindedly played with his nunchuks.

"I want an apology."

Raphael almost tripped over his own feet in his surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, something like that. Except it has to be heartfelt."

Raphael opened his mouth to speak, but he made no sound. He was caught completely off-guard. When he finally found his voice again, it was incredulous.

"Why should I apologize to you? We didn't even really talk before this morning! How could I have hurt you?"

Michelangelo kicked an empty tin can which was on his way. The sound echoed in their tunnel.

"You really don't have a clue?"

Raphael shook his head, still bemused.

"Let's look at it this way," Michelangelo explained patiently. "Imagine that someone had mistreated one of your brothers. How would you feel?"

It finally clicked in Raphael's confused head.

"Is this about Leo?"

Michelangelo sent him an exasperated look.

"Of course it is."

Raphael frowned.

"What did he tell you?"

"Enough, but probably not the entire truth," Michelangelo shrugged. "He actually tried to defend your behavior, if you can believe it."

Now Raphael was beginning to feel angry and ashamed. A familiar and dangerous mix. He clenched his fists.

"Well, he shouldn't have. Is he such a crybaby?"

Next thing he knew, Raphael's shoulder was hurting like hell. He doubled over in pain before realizing that Michelangelo had hit him with his nunchuk. And he hadn't even seen him move. Was the whole family lightning-fast?

"Unlike my Raph, I am ready to forgive you," Michelangelo stated calmly. "But you have to ask for it."

"You…" Raphael panted. "How dare you…"

Unexpectedly, Michelangelo grinned.

"I'm just speaking your language. English to Raph dictionary, entry 'express your deepest disapproval'. Did I make a translation error?"

Raphael was so taken aback that he forgot to get mad. Now Michelangelo was dancing around him, still smiling.

"I'm already feeling much better. What did you want to know earlier? It was so hard not to talk to you."

The orange-clad turtle somersaulted.

"Take your time to express your regrets. I can see that you're confused right now. In the meantime, I'll make conversation."

While Michelangelo began to talk, Raphael shook his head. At least he finally had what he wanted.

* * *

The Raphael from another dimension watched this foreign Donatello. He tried to see beneath the surface. Leonardo had told him that he had been depressed, but all he could see was a single-minded turtle genius focusing on finding April.

"I'm surprised that your Mikey wanted so badly to go with my Raph," Donatello suddenly remarked.

Raphael smiled.

"I'm not. I think your brother underestimated my Mikey. He's in for a big surprise."

As Donatello watched him with curious eyes, Raphael smiled.

"Let's just say that he didn't like what Leo told us any more than I did."

"I see," Donatello mused. "Am I in for a big surprise too?"

Raphael offered him a toothy smile.

"Don't worry, genius. You're not the one I really want to punch. But Mikey was quicker."

The purple-clad turtle shook his head.

"Does Leo know about your little scheme?"

"We didn't tell him, but he probably guessed," Raphael shrugged.

"You're very protective of him. Yet I had the impression that he was perfectly able to defend himself."

Raphael's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, he is. But we thought that he wasn't going to give my counterpart what he deserved. You know, being his usual forgiving self."

"No, I wouldn't know," Donatello said softly, with only a touch of bitterness.

* * *

About half an hour after the other turtles had disappeared into the sewers, Leonardo's brother Donatello left his counterpart's lab and tiptoed to the dojo. He cast a glance inside and nodded. As he had hoped, the other Master Splinter was meditating in front of the dojo tree, eyes closed.

Donatello coughed.

The ninja master opened his eyes and looked at the purple-clad turtle.

"Yes, Donatello?"

The purple-clad turtle hesitated.

"Master Splinter, may I speak with you?"

"Of course," Splinter answered warmly. "Come in."

Donatello entered the room and sat cross-legged in front of the ninja master.

"Why aren't you helping with the search?" Splinter asked him after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"I didn't really want to meet the mutant in question before he had a chance to get used to us," Donatello answered uneasily. "I know the one in my world can be…difficult."

Master Splinter frowned.

"But my sons will be fine, right?"

"Yes, don't worry," Donatello quickly amended.

Master Splinter looked at him intensely before nodding. After a while, he asked the turtle again.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Donatello played with his fingers.

"Master Splinter. May I ask you an indiscrete question?"

The ninja master opened his eyes slightly wider. He wondered what it was all about.

"Yes, Donatello. Though I can't promise that I will answer it," he told him.

Donatello took a deep breath.

"What happened between you and Leo?"

Splinter blinked. He hadn't been expecting this question.

"What makes you think that something happened?" Splinter inquired, curious.

Donatello shrugged.

"What did he tell you?" The rat master tried again. From the way Donatello averted his eyes, he could sense that it was important. His own son's expressions were very similar to the ones of this other Donatello, and Splinter's concern naturally extended to him.

"Only that you didn't trust him to use your weapons," Donatello said softly.

"Which is true. Does it seem so strange to you? After all, I didn't know him."

"I guess not," Donatello sighed. "It's just… there has to be something more."

Splinter lifted an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"No reason, I'm sorry to have disturbed you," Donatello whispered.

The rat master frowned.

"Donatello."

The purple-clad turtle winced. He knew this giant and familiar rat wasn't his father, but the illusion was perfect. He felt compelled to tell him the truth.

"It's just… Leo was so cold towards you yesterday, when we were exchanging our stories. It was very unlike him."

"Was he?" Splinter mused. He hadn't noticed it. "On the contrary, he seemed very respectful. More than I am used to, in fact."

Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Oh, he was. I'm just saying, he usually is even _more_ respectful. You… I mean… he's very close to our own father," the purple-clad turtle added clumsily. He felt guilty. Was he betraying his brother by telling this Master Splinter this? Leonardo obviously hadn't wanted them to interfere. But Leonardo was sometimes too guarded for his own good.

Splinter pondered this.

"Are you saying that I may have hurt him? It was never my intention."

Donatello nodded, relieved.

"Yes, I have been wondering if it was the case."

The ninja master watched him intensely.

"You care deeply about him, don't you?"

Donatello nodded fiercely.

"Of course. He's my brother."

Master Splinter sighed.

"Thanks for sharing your concern with me, Donatello."

The purple-clad turtle understood that he was dismissed and stood up, bowing respectfully to his elder. He left the dojo, hoping his intervention wouldn't do more harm than good.

* * *

Leonardo and the Michelangelo who wasn't his brother were walking quietly in the sewers. To his surprise, Michelangelo was enjoying it. Of course, it wouldn't last long. He was a talkative turtle after all. But right now, he was content to silently follow the blue-clad turtle, discreetly watching him. He had already wandered the sewers alone with Leonardo, before the very first fight with Hun, but Michelangelo looked at him from a new perspective now that he had seen what the katana-wielder could do. He searched for hints of Leonardo's dangerous skills in his silent and graceful walk, his alert eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. At what speed could he unsheathe his weapons if need be? And yet he had been nothing but kind with him and his brothers. Had they deserved it?

As if he had heard these thoughts, Leonardo turned to the orange-clad turtle and smiled at him. Michelangelo felt his cheeks burn.

He nonetheless took the opportunity to tell him what he had wanted to say since they had returned from Stockman's facility.

"Uh, Leo? I never got to thank you for, you now… guarding my back in there."

"You're the one who deserves the thanks, Mikey," Leonardo answered softly. "You didn't have to come rescue me."

Michelangelo smiled.

"Of course I had to. After all, if we had been more welcoming, you wouldn't have run away, you wouldn't have been captured, and…"

"And I wouldn't have met April," Leonardo finished. "What is done, is done."

The blue-clad turtle nudged the nunchuks wielder.

"Plus, you were awesome, Mikey," he told him. "Really, I don't know what I would have done without you."

Michelangelo beamed. He was about to say something when Leonardo abruptly stopped.

"Listen," he whispered.

Michelangelo frowned. He focused and soon heard what had caught Leonardo's attention.

"A gunfire in the sewers?" He whispered back, quivering.

"Laser guns, from the sound," Leonardo answered in the same way. "I believe we have found our alligator."

"He may need help," Michelangelo decided. "Let's go!"

The orange-clad turtle began to run towards the shooting.

Leonardo called him back, but it was too late. He swore and quickly texted a message to the others.

_I guess I can't ask from an inexperienced Michelangelo to be cautious before getting into a fight,_ Leonardo thought wryly. _It's hard enough with my own Mikey._

With a sigh, the blue-clad turtle began running after the shorter turtle.


	22. Found

"And then I ate my way out of him, and he was really delicious… But when I woke up in my bed, nobody believed me…"

Raphael was listening to Leonardo's orange-clad brother with perplexity. He was still in a state of shock after what had happened earlier, and he found it hard to focus on what Michelangelo was saying. It didn't help that half of his stories made no sense at all to the red-clad turtle. A pizza man? Seriously?

When both the turtles' phones buzzed, Raphael felt almost relieved. He read the short text from Leonardo.

_Found him._

At his side, Michelangelo exclaimed.

"Owww, amazing! I can't wait to meet your Leatherhead! I hope he's as sweet as ours!"

Setting off the tracking program developed by his Donatello, Raphael swore. They were further away than he would have liked.

"Let's go," he grumbled.

"Let's race!" Michelangelo retorted. "Last one serves dinner to the winner in a lace apron!"

"No way!" Raphael answered hastily. He seriously doubted his chances to win such a race. But Michelangelo was already running. And Raphael had to rejoice that Leonardo's brother didn't seem to be mad at him anymore, right? Swearing again, the red-clad turtle set off after him.

* * *

When they received Leonardo's text, Donatello and the Raphael from another world were only ten minutes away from Leonardo and Michelangelo.

Donatello looked happily at Raphael.

"They found him! We are going to learn where April is!"

The purple-clad turtle laughed.

"After all this time, I'll finally be able to help her. Isn't it great? Oh, I'm sure I will get along perfectly with her mutant friend!"

Raphael coughed and answered an unconvincing 'Of course'. But Donatello was too happy to notice.

"Let's head there," the red-clad turtle said.

Donatello rubbed his hands.

"Of course. But I need to know right away what they learned! I'll call my Mikey."

The purple-clad turtle did as he had said, but Michelangelo didn't answer his phone. Donatello frowned and tried Leonardo's number. When he got no answer either, he began to worry.

"What's happening?"

The red-clad turtle sighed as he began to run faster.

"How am I supposed to know? We should better hurry, just in case they would need help."

"Do you think they do? Leonardo's message didn't mention anything about that," Donatello replied while increasing his pace.

Raphael glanced at him and Donatello bit his lip.

"Or he didn't have time to write more," he finished his thought.

* * *

Back at the lair, the other Donatello was peacefully drinking coffee while trying to decipher blueprints of Kraang technology. These blueprints were part of Stockman's files and had probably been drawn by the mad scientist himself. They had been overlooked by Donatello's double, who had been focusing on finding data about April.

Donatello was happy to have something to keep his mind busy after his little talk with Master Splinter. He knew he would have to tell Leonardo about it, and he couldn't help feeling a little anxious about his blue-clad brother's reaction.

When his T-phone buzzed and he read Leonardo's text, he quickly localized the emitting phone on the sewer map and shrugged. He was too far away to be of any help. Not that he was overly worried anyway. He was sure that the others could handle the situation.

Before going back to the task at hand, he quickly texted back.

_Got it. Call if you need long-distance help._

* * *

Once again, the Michelangelo of this world was at Leonardo's side in a life-or-death situation, and once again he was enjoying himself immensely. However, he hadn't foreseen that it would be against the giant mutant alligator who was supposed to be their ally.

Michelangelo hadn't hesitated when he had seen April's friend fight against Stockman's soldiers. He had joined the fight, determined to help. Leonardo had joined him a few seconds later, sending him a meaningful glance that Michelangelo hadn't been quite able to decipher – an odd mix of exasperation, resignation, determination and affection, perhaps? And Michelangelo had grinned at the blue-clad turtle, feeling strangely cared for, and had turned his attention back to the fight.

The big alligator was in a frenzy. Even if the two turtles hadn't show up, he would probably have disposed of the armed men in a few minutes. With their help, the fight was over in less than one minute.

Michelangelo put his nunchuks back in his belt, regretting that the fight hadn't lasted longer, and turned to the alligator.

"Hello! I'm happy to meet you, Gator Man!"

The orange-clad turtle couldn't help thinking that the name wasn't as perfect as it could have been. _I will think of something else,_ he thought.

However, the alligator didn't answer this warm welcome. His eyes were white and his posture was threatening. Michelangelo gulped.

"My name is Michelangelo and I'm a friend," he tried again. "Do you understand?"

The alligator opened a wide mouth full of very, very sharp teeth and roared.

"I'll take that as a no!" Michelangelo shrieked, launching himself on his right to avoid the giant mutant and colliding with the wall.

"He's still in his battle frenzy!" Leonardo shouted, taking Michelangelo's arm to help him on his feet.

"You don't say!" The orange-clad turtle shouted back.

And that's how the two turtles ended up trying to avoid the giant alligator's powerful blows.

"It's not working!" Leonardo shouted a while later. "He thinks we are the enemy and he's not calming down. We need to disappear from his sight. It's time to show me how stealthy you can be!"

The katana wielder spun to block another blow from the roaring alligator before pushing Michelangelo back. The orange-clad turtle nodded and blended in the sewers' shadows. Nobody would find him there, he was perfectly hidden. A master of stealth, talented beyond comparison…

"And don't forget to set your phone on silent mode!" Leonardo added, as if on second thought.

Michelangelo frowned. He hadn't thought of that. He hastily did so. When he looked back at Leonardo, the blue-clad turtle had disappeared too. The mutant alligator roared, apparently alone in the sewers. He slowly calmed down until his eyes revealed their pupils.

"I think it's safe now," Leonardo whispered in Michelangelo's ear.

The orange-clad turtle started and almost let go of the pipe he was holding. He hadn't been aware that Leonardo was that close to him. The blue-clad turtle's next whisper was undoubtedly amused.

"But no sudden moves."

Both turtles dropped on the floor, at a safe distance from the unstable mutant.

"Hello," Leonardo said. "Are you the Gator Man April told me about?"

The alligator's eyes immediately focused on him.

"Yes," he said in a soft voice. Michelangelo immediately loved it. "And I suppose that you are Leonardo, and …" He hesitated.

"I'm Michelangelo," the orange-clad turtle supplied happily. "I tried to tell you sooner, but you were too busy trying to kill us."

The alligator lowered his head.

"Was I? I'm sorry, it is hard for me to control my fury when I fight."

"Don't mention it," Michelangelo soothed him. "I have a brother who is just like you."

Leonardo smiled. He was pretty sure that none of the Raphael would have appreciated the comparison.

The alligator smiled too, a hesitant, toothy smile.

"April warned me that you would probably try to contact me. I wanted to find you, but I kept running into these armed men."

"I'm glad we found you," Leonardo told him. "We have a lot to talk about. But maybe we should wait for the others."

The alligator nodded. As he opened his mouth to talk, Donatello and Raphael suddenly burst into the tunnel.

"Mikey!" Donatello shouted at his brother. "Are you alright? Have you been fighting? Was it the Kraang again?"

Leonardo and his brother Raphael just had the time to exchange a half-dismayed, half-amused smile before the alligator grabbed the unlucky Donatello's face.

* * *

The Raphael of this world was running as fast as he could, but Michelangelo had left him in the dust and was nowhere to be seen. Raphael swore. _I didn't accept his stupid challenge,_ he thought. _So I'm not losing, right?_

He looked at his phone. He was almost there. Another corner and…

Raphael stopped to better witness the scene before him. His brother Michelangelo was hugging a giant alligator's mouth, humming a lullaby, while his brother Donatello sat on the floor, hiding his face in his hands. Leonardo and the other Raphael were watching the scene impassively.

"What is going on here?" The red-clad turtle managed to say.

"Raph!" Michelangelo happily exclaimed. "Meet the Gator Man… or better… Leatherhead! Yes, it's the perfect name! His head is so leathery," he said affectionately, patting said head.

The other Raphael looked at his double, frowning.

"Where is my Mikey?"

"He's not already there?" Raphael answered, surprised. "We were racing and…" He suddenly realized what it meant and his expression lighted up. "I won!"

Leonardo shook his head and took his T-phone to call his missing brother.

"Hi, Mikey. Where are you?"

The blue-clad turtle listened intently to the answer.

"You got lost in these sewers? Well, that's why you were supposed to work with the Raph who knows them… And now you're stuck in… really? Okay, I'm coming. Don't move… Oh, you can't anyway? Sorry…"

Repressing a chuckle, Leonardo hung up. Looking at the others, he fought to keep a straight face.

"I'll get Mikey. He's not very far," he said.

And it must have been true, because both Leonardo and his orange-clad brother were back a few minutes later. Michelangelo was covered with a greenish and smelly slime, and Leonardo shook his head.

"Believe me, you don't want to know," he said to the others.

The Raphael who wasn't his brother couldn't help himself.

"You'll have to take a bath," he said matter-of-factly to the orange-clad turtle. "That smell won't go with your apron."

Michelangelo glared at him while the others exchanged perplexed glances.


	23. Allies

When things had settled down and the newly named Leatherhead was perfectly calm again, the Michelangelo of this world decided that they would talk more comfortably in the lair. While his brothers Raphael and Donatello disagreed immediately, he was backed up by the other Michelangelo.

Leonardo and his Raphael stayed cautiously out of the argument and took a few steps back to avoid any collateral damage.

"Who will win, to your mind?" Raphael asked his blue-clad brother.

"Two Mikey taking one Leatherhead's side?" Leonardo shrugged. "Your double and his Donnie don't stand a chance."

"I agree with you," Raphael nodded. "And why was my double talking about an apron?" He added as an afterthought.

Leonardo rolled his eyes.

"Do I really want to know?"

Raphael nudged him.

"Come on, of course you want to," he retorted.

Leonardo blinked at him.

"Considering that your double was talking about a race he surprisingly won, I guess Mikey made a bet he shouldn't have done."

"I guess you're right," Raphael sighed. "Which isn't exactly what he was supposed to do with…"

The red-clad turtle abruptly shut up, but it was too late.

"And what was Mikey supposed to do with their Raph?" Leonardo asked, frowning. He had more or less guessed that his brothers wanted to get back at the other Raphael for the hothead's actions towards him, but he hadn't expected that Michelangelo would be the first one to want to get revenge.

Raphael smiled sheepishly at him.

"Nothing you should worry about."

Leonardo shook his head, unconvinced.

"Please tell me that you don't intend to start a civil war."

"You worry too much," Raphael answered, looking entirely innocent.

Half an hour later, the two Michelangelo had won the argument and they all started the way back to the lair. The orange-clad turtles were chatting happily with Leatherhead, while Donatello was walking behind his brother Raphael at a safe distance from the alligator. Leonardo felt sheepish. Maybe they should have warned him.

As if his own Raphael had heard his thoughts, he flashed him a smile. _But where would be the fun in that?_ Leonardo translated, and he could only agree.

* * *

"Are you saying that you have no way to contact April?"

The Donatello of this world was outraged. However, he didn't dare to show it. He had no wish to see his precious face grabbed again by the alligator mutant. He glanced at his double, sitting in front of him in the dojo. Had he known what would happen? Probably. With an inwardly sigh, Donatello decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and focused back on Leatherhead.

The giant alligator shook his head. He was awkwardly sitting on the floor, next to Master Splinter who was watching him carefully. The rat master hadn't been very happy with Leatherhead's arrival in the lair, but he had accepted his son Michelangelo's arguments.

"No, my friend. I do have a way to contact her, but she must be the one to start the conversation," the alligator pleasantly answered.

Donatello restrained the urge to discuss the subtle difference between "a way to contact" and "a way to be contacted". He took a deep breath.

"And when will she contact you, then?"

"When there is no emergency, she calls every evening," Leatherhead answered. "I like our conversations."

Donatello gritted his teeth. It looked like he would have to wait. Again.

Leonardo noticed his frustration and changed the topic.

"Leatherhead, what do you know about April?" He asked.

The alligator sighed.

"She has been a prisoner from Stockman for months. She actually had a few occasions to get free, but she didn't want to leave her father here. She was afraid that Stockman would get revenge on him. That man is unstable," he said gravely.

"Like you're not," the Raphael of this world muttered. His father glared at him and he shut up.

"And do you know where he keeps her locked up? During my escape, she wasn't in the same building as I was," Leonardo went on.

Leatherhead sighed.

"Not really. Stockman has many hideouts, and I don't know all of them. April herself doesn't always know where she is – her location changes often and they blindfold her during the ride."

Both Donatello clenched their fists at that statement. Leonardo rested his chin in his hands.

"Is it the same for her father, or does Kirby usually stays at the main facility?" He asked.

"I am not sure," Leatherhead said in a sad tone. "She doesn't see him very often – Stockman sees to it."

Leonardo sighed. Helping April to get out of Stockman's claws was going to be a difficult task. Especially if they had to free both her and her father, as he began to suspect it.

"Did she tell you anything specific when she last contacted you?" He asked at last.

"She told me about you, and she said that you would probably try to find me," Leatherhead answered. He hesitated before going on. "Our conversation was short. She seemed in a hurry, I have no idea why."

"When she will contact you this evening," Leonardo began, "will you please tell us and allow us to participate in the conversation?"

The giant alligator absent-mindedly rubbed his left wrist. Under his wrappings was a tiny sphere, in constant contact with his skin. The transmitter that April had given him was one of his dearest treasures. He felt uneasy to leave it in the hands of these almost strangers. As if he had guessed his hesitation, the Michelangelo who was from this world squeezed him.

"Don't worry, we won't take your transmitter away from you," he soothed. "We just want to help your friend, who is also our friend, right?"

The orange-clad turtle was beaming at him and Leatherhead felt his heart melt. Until then, he had thought that April would be his only friend. But this turtle really seemed to like him. So the alligator gravely nodded.

The Donatello of this world clasped his hands.

"Perfect. This evening it is, then. I still have to make a few preparations, but…"

Master Splinter looked at him, concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as soon as she tells us where she is, we're going to rescue her," he said matter-of-factly. So we would better get ready now."

The ninja master frowned.

"And what if she can't tell you that?"

Donatello shrugged.

"Then I will have to trace her telepathic signal back to her."

"Can you do that?" His brother Michelangelo exclaimed in awe.

"Not yet, but I will find a way to do it," Donatello said convincingly. "Anything to help her."

His father interrupted him, the authority in his voice making everyone look at him.

"Even if you can do that, you can't launch a rescue party tonight."

"Why not, Sensei?" His purple-clad son protested. "Don't you think that she has been a prisoner long enough?"

Splinter looked sternly at him.

"And what is your plan?"

As Donatello didn't answer, Splinter stood up and began pacing the room.

"Do you know who, or what, is guarding her? How will you get in, and out? You need to know your enemy if you want to be successful, and you don't. The last rescue mission," he glanced at Leonardo, "more than proved that."

"But Father," his son Michelangelo protested, "our last mission was a success!"

"And you were lucky no one was injured," Splinter answered harshly. "From what I understood, you didn't even know that aliens were involved."

The ninja master took a deep cleansing breath.

"I know that you care deeply about this young girl, Donatello, but you can't put your brothers in danger on a whim. You have to be prepared, and you're not."

His purple-clad son lowered his head. He remembered what had happened last time he had wanted to help April. Michelangelo had been the one to get injured.

Unexpectedly, it was the same Michelangelo who came to his aid.

"But Father, what if she needs us right now? We can't abandon her!"

Splinter sighed.

"I'm not telling you to give up, my sons. But you have to give yourselves more time. As long as you cannot fight as one," he glanced at his son Raphael, "it is too dangerous for you to face such a powerful enemy. What if you make a mistake and the girl you want to save is injured or killed?"

His sons exchanged dejected glances. They knew their father was right.

The giant rat turned to his four guests of another world, who had kept quiet during the argument.

"What is your opinion on this matter?"

Leonardo and his brothers exchanged glances. Donatello spoke first.

"They may not be ready, but we are."

Splinter raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And what is your plan?"

Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo turned to Leonardo. The blue-clad turtle winced.

"I don't know yet. There are different possibilities, depending on what April will tell us if she contacts Leatherhead."

He hesitated.

"I hope we will have some time to prepare our rescue party. But considering what happened during my escape…"

The blue-clad turtle shook his head.

"As long as Stockman was in league with the Kraang, they didn't interfere too much with Earth's business. But now, they may be working independently from him. If so, April is in great danger."

The Donatello of this world was hanging on his every word. Splinter noticed it and narrowed his eyes.

"Let's suppose that April contacts you and is able to tell you exactly where she is. How are you going to rescue her? Michelangelo?"

Leonardo's orange-clad brother was wriggling.

"By being an awesome team, of course!"

Splinter took another deep breath.

"I hoped that you would be a little more explicit."

Michelangelo smiled at the rat who wasn't his father.

"I wouldn't have to if you knew us. But as you don't, please allow me to introduce ourselves."

The orange-clad turtle stood up and bowed. He had taken a shower earlier, and the smell was almost entirely gone.

"First of all, please keep in mind that we are all awesome fighters. That being done, let's begin with your humble servant here. I'm Michelangelo, king of diversions, genius of Dimension X, expert of making new allies and great out-of-the-box thinker."

"When you're thinking at all, you mean," his brother Raphael clarified. Michelangelo's antics amused him.

Michelangelo ignored the barb and went on.

"The funny guy in red excels at everything requiring brute force, but he also has a knack for delicate jobs like taming pigeons…"

Splinter's sons, their father and Leatherhead looked at Raphael with surprise. The red-clad turtle blushed and sent one of his sai at Mikey, which his brother easily avoided. The orange-clad turtle nonetheless decided that he would keep the next part – a little story about cockroaches - to himself and went on.

"The strong tall purple guy here is an indispensable asset. Not everyone is able to defuse a bomb or hack an enemy's security system in mere seconds…"

At these words, Splinter's purple-clad son grinned at his Raphael and leaned his elbow on his brother's shoulder. It felt good to hear this description, even if it was about his double. And Raphael and pigeons? That was even better. His red-clad brother shrugged with a resigned expression.

"…not to mention the amazing stuff he keeps building just for us," Michelangelo went on.

"And last but not least, we have the blue-clad turtle here. Excels at both planning and improvising strategies. Of course, he regularly takes a mission too seriously, but I'm here to help with that."

"There is no such thing as too seriously when our lives are at stake, Mikey," Leonardo patiently replied.

Michelangelo grinned at him.

"See? Thanks for proving my point."

The orange-clad turtle bowed to his stunned audience.

"Any questions?"

"Yes," Splinter answered. "Who will I blame when your arrogance will cause your demise?"

Everyone winced at the harsh tone and Michelangelo looked unsettled. This wasn't the reaction he had expected.

"I'm just telling the truth," he stammered. "Without exaggerating."

"For once, he's right," Raphael interjected, defending his brother.

Splinter frowned.

"Do you really think that you are invincible?" He told them with severity. "I find it hard to believe that you have any idea of what it is to really, truly fight. You're totally oblivious to the risks! Did your own father tell you nothing about the price of losing?"

Michelangelo was close to tears now. Why was this Splinter so intense? Why did he refuse to believe him?

"It would be me," Leonardo calmly interrupted Splinter's rant.

The ninja master looked at him in surprise.

"You could blame me," Leonardo repeated. "I'm their leader, so it's my responsibility. Please don't shout at Mikey."

The blue-clad turtle stood up and bowed solemnly.

"I do understand your concern. But I assure you that we can take care of ourselves. And… " Leonardo absent-mindedly stroked his throat.

"Please don't assume that we don't know the price of losing."


	24. Puzzle

"You're their leader," the other Raphael repeated, not believing his ears. "You?"

Leonardo nodded, deadly serious. Still standing, Michelangelo came closer to him and squeezed his shell.

The red-clad turtle turned towards his double.

"And you accept it?"

Raphael smiled.

"It took me a while to… adjust to it, but I guess I do. More or less."

This time, the shadow of a smile played on Leonardo's lips.

In front of the blue-clad turtle, Master Splinter was stroking his beard. It made sense that they would have a leader. And it explained a lot that it was Leonardo.

The ninja master sighed. He knew that he had gone too far – he had no right to criticize these turtles like that, he wasn't their father. But his sons' safety had always been a sensitive topic, and he was afraid that they would follow the other turtles' example and get themselves into a lot more trouble.

"I owe you an apology," he finally told the Michelangelo who was looking at him from behind Leonardo's shell with big, hurt baby blue eyes. "I didn't want to belittle you."

Michelangelo averted his eyes for a while. Then he smiled and slid to Leonardo's side, so that his blue-clad brother could put his arm around his shoulders.

"It's okay."

"Leonardo, I would like to speak with you in private," Master Splinter added, looking at the blue-clad turtle.

Leonardo nodded his assent before turning to Leatherhead.

"After that, I would really like to know what happened when you knocked me out."

"Of course, Leonardo," Leatherhead answered. "I'm sorry about that."

* * *

Since Master Splinter had dismissed everyone but Leonardo, both Donatello were in the lab and both Michelangelo had headed for the kitchen and dragged Leatherhead in their wake, leaving the two Raphael face-to-face in the living room.

Needless to say that the atmosphere was quite strained.

The two red-clad turtle were watching each other with distrust, aware that their expressions were perfectly mirroring the other's and hating it.

Leonardo's brother spoke first.

"Let's sort this out," he said with disdain. "I accuse you of being an idiot and a moron. Anything you want to say before I beat you to the ground?"

The other Raphael clenched his fists. He wasn't going to step aside.

"Nothing that you would understand. Weapons or no weapons?"

"No weapons would be preferable, I think. I promised your Mikey that I wouldn't kill you. Last words?"

"You're a jerk."

"Takes one to know one."

* * *

In Donatello's laboratory, two geniuses were pretending to be engrossed in studying Kraang blueprints. When they heard the unmistakable sound of crashed furniture and shells colliding with the floor coming from the living room, they stopped the act and looked at each other.

"Should we interfere?" The Donatello of this world asked his double, who shrugged.

"No. My Raph needs to settle the score with yours – no offense, but I understand."

Leonardo's purple-clad brother smiled sheepishly.

"And I don't really want to get between two angry Raphael. Do you?"

The other Donatello smiled back.

"Same here. You would have to be really stupid to do that, and we both know that we are anything but that."

"Aren't you worried about your Raph? He's going to lose, you know," Leonardo's brother matter-of-factly remarked.

Chuckling, his double straightened up on his chair.

"In consideration of the fact that he kicked my shell week after week for years… no, I'm not. Not to mention Raph always loved a good brawl."

Looking his counterpart in the eye, he sighed before going on.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier. My father can get really intense when it comes to protecting us. He's worried that we will repeat an old mistake."

Donatello absent-mindedly played with a pencil sharpener on his desk.

"I can't blame him. Mikey was hurt and I became depressed. Raph spent a lot of time out of the lair. Those were hard days for our family."

His double awkwardly put a hand on his arm.

"Don't mention it. I know what it is to have hard days."

"Do you? You seem to be perfectly in tune with each other," the Donatello of this world replied bitterly.

Leonardo's brother turned away.

"We are. This is how we could keep going when our city was conquered by the Kraang. Our father was defeated by a deadly enemy and separated from us." He clenched his fists, his voice hoarse. "We fled. Leo was in a coma and despite all of my knowledge, all I could do was put him in the water and hope he would somehow find his way back to us…Which he did, months later."

"I'm sorry," his double answered softly. "I didn't know."

Leonardo's brother shook himself, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to tell you this, I just…Seeing you without a Leo made me remember those times, I guess."

The Donatello of this world sighed.

"I understand. You know, I've begun wondering what it would have been to grow up with three brothers instead of two."

He shook his head.

"But it's pointless. And I love my brothers deeply, I wouldn't exchange them for the world."

A bump reminded them of the fight going on out of the lab.

"Even the red-clad hothead," he concluded.

* * *

In the kitchen, both Michelangelo were feeding an amazed Leatherhead. The giant alligator was growing very fond of them very quickly.

However, he started when he heard fighting noises and he immediately stood up, eyes entirely white.

"No, stay here!" The Michelangelo of this world spoke with the voice he would have taken to comfort a small child. "Everything is fine. It's just my brother and the other Mikey's brother being their usual hotheaded selves."

"Yeah, don't worry," Leonardo's Michelangelo added, hugging him. "It's for the best. They would have exploded sooner or later. It's more of a relief, really."

Leatherhead blinked, rapidly calming down. He felt safe with those two.

"Another mouthful of soup?" The orange-clad turtles asked him in perfect unison.

Leatherhead grinned, a terrifying sight for any normal person. He felt safe _and_ well-fed.

* * *

Leonardo was kneeling in front of Splinter, hands resting on his knees and eyes set on the ninja master. He didn't feel as upset as he had during their first meeting. He was drawing strength from his brothers' presence close by.

Master Splinter was watching him quietly. He remembered what Leonardo's Donatello had told him earlier and tried to put the puzzle together. He didn't know what the blue-clad turtle was thinking or feeling right now and it unsettled him. He would have easily guessed if it had been Donatello, Raphael or Michelangelo – he had raised them from infancy, he knew their subtlest changes of expressions and their body language by heart. He had found out that the turtles from another dimension shared many similarities with his own sons, so he believed that he would have easily guessed their feelings too. But this one was an enigma.

Master Splinter stirred his whiskers.

"Leonardo. It seems that we started off on the wrong foot. I never had any intention to hurt your or your brothers' feelings."

The blue-clad turtle tilted his head, surprised.

"Thanks for telling me," he whispered at last. "I know you're only worried about your sons."

The ninja master sighed.

"Yes. You saw them. They are far less experienced than you and your brothers, but it won't stop them from trying to help this April. Especially Donatello."

Leonardo nodded.

"My Donnie is very close to her too. All of us are, but he's…uh…"

"Totally infatuated," Master Splinter provided helpfully.

"Something like that," Leonardo acknowledged.

In the silence that followed, they heard a suspicious bump and a muffled shout.

"Ahem," Leonardo said. "Sorry about that. If you would please excuse me…"

As he pretended to stand up, Master Splinter breathed heavily.

"Stay here. Maybe it's for the best if Raphael learns how to lose from someone he can relate to."

Leonardo watched him with interest. Had the ninja master guessed what would happen?

"I noticed how much your brothers care for you," Splinter explained. "Knowing my Raphael's temper, it wasn't very difficult to guess the reaction of yours. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."

Leonardo winced.

"My apologies."

Master Splinter sighed.

"You don't need to apologize."

He took a deep breath and looked intently at the young mutant before him. He had presented himself as the leader. Was he worthy of the title? His brother Raphael had said that he accepted it, more or less – whatever that meant. His brother Michelangelo had claimed that he excelled at strategizing… and he was a decent fighter, Splinter had witnessed it during the disastrous training session that had abruptly came to an end with Raphael's outburst. But there was more to leadership than fighting abilities and strategies. And Leonardo was so young and so reserved. However, he had stepped in earlier, coming to Michelangelo's defense. All in all, Splinter didn't know what to think of him.

The ninja master realized that Leonardo was watching him quietly, his deep blue eyes inscrutable, waiting for him to talk. He suddenly came to a decision. This young turtle had a father in his own dimension, a father who trusted him enough to make him responsible for his brothers' safety. Maybe Splinter could trust his unknown double's decision.

He finally spoke.

"You made clear that you would help the young human girl. In the event of my sons following you, will you please ensure that no harm comes to them?"

"I shall do my best," Leonardo answered, bowing.

* * *

"Leatherhead? Leatherhead!"

Both Michelangelo were watching the giant mutant with concern. He had stopped eating and closed his eyes, focusing deeply.

"It's April," Leatherhead growled at last.

The Michelangelo's eyes widened.

"Is she contacting you right now?"

"But I thought she only called in the evening!"

"Maybe she doesn't have a watch?"

"There was another possibility, right? What was it? I can't remember…"

"I do! It was in case of emergency!"

"Oh, you're right!"

Both turtles suddenly stopped talking.

"It's an emergency!" The Michelangelo of another world shouted. "Stay with Leatherhead, I'll get the others!"

The orange-clad turtle bounced out of the kitchen and into the living room, where both Raphael were still wrestling on the floor. The fight should have been over by now, so Michelangelo suspected that his brother was just enjoying himself. He took two water balloons from his secret reserve and sent them with expert precision at the red-clad turtles' faces.

He was rewarded with two satisfying yells.

"Mikey!"

Michelangelo jumped over the knocked over furniture.

"April is contacting Leatherhead! Right now!"

Luckily for him, it caught the Raphael's attention. Michelangelo headed for the laboratory to warn both Donatello. However, the two purple-clad turtles must have heard him, because they were rushing out of the lab. Michelangelo somersaulted to avoid them and spun towards the dojo, but Leonardo and Splinter were already leaving it.

"Aww, what's the fun in warning everyone if you already know?" Michelangelo complained.

Coming next to him, Leonardo smiled at his brother.

"That's because you are too efficient, Mikey. It would have been impossible to overlook such loud yells."

The blue-clad turtle shook his head, taking the devastation scene in. The living room was a mess. From the way Master Splinter looked, someone would be on cleaning duty soon.

"I hope Raph is happy with his little scheme. Waiting until I was too busy talking to Splinter."

Michelangelo grinned.

"Come on, Leo! You knew it was bound to happen."

Leonardo let out a resigned sigh and headed for the kitchen.

Everyone was gathered here, watching Leatherhead who still had his eyes closed.

"The signal isn't as clear as usual," the alligator told them with difficulty. "She's…" Leatherhead's eyes widened with shock and anger. "She's hurting."


	25. Desperate Measures

April O'Neil was mad at herself. She had been reckless and was now trapped, momentarily unable to go back to her room.

Since the fateful day of her capture, she had learned to be constantly on the lookout. She had been a trusting young girl before her life was smashed to pieces. She hadn't known what it was to be a prisoner at the mercy of a madman then.

The red-haired girl was cold. The narrow closet where she had found shelter was freezing. However, she didn't dare to rub his hands to warm up for fear of attracting unwanted attention. After all, she wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to be locked up in a bedroom in retaliation for her earlier spying act.

When something like this happened, she usually complied with the punishment. She didn't want her captors to know that she could open her door at will now. She had been improving this useful skill for weeks.

However, the last events were too disturbing for her to obediently stay in her room.

She was delighted to know that the mutant turtle – _Leo_ , she reminded herself – had escaped, apparently with the help of his brothers. April wondered how they had managed to find him in this universe. Maybe her and Leatherhead's last experiment hadn't been as useless as she had thought?

What's more, the alliance between Stockman and the Kraang had been broken in the process. When she had learnt how furious Stockman was, April had been glad to have a perfect excuse to stay out of trouble. She had been locked up miles away from the main facility. She couldn't be suspected of anything, right?

Maybe she should have stayed in her room after all. Giving away one of her little secrets now was certainly a very bad idea.

April tried again to look through the slit of the sliding doors, but the desk she could see inside the room was still occupied.

She swore. She had to come back to her room soon, before someone noticed her absence. It had already been half an hour, and the guard had kept drinking hot coffee after hot coffee. Surely he would have to go to the bathroom soon.

April silently shook his head. And she still didn't know what had happened to her father.

The guard finished his umpteenth cup of coffee and still didn't appear to leave the room. He must have a cast-iron bladder.

April quietly sighed and remembered how she had got into this mess.

* * *

Her usual watchman, a bald short man with glasses, wasn't unkind. He liked April and usually tried to give her news or bring her what she asked for. Of course, he would never go against Stockman's orders concerning her, but his small gestures had made her life a little easier.

When he had brought her a late breakfast this morning, he had told her about Leonardo's escape and the resulting fight with the Kraang. However, April had the feeling that he was hiding something. She had insisted until he admitted that Kirby O'Neil was missing.

April had felt her heart sink. She knew that her father would never abandon her, nor do anything that could put her at risk. He wouldn't have tried to escape on his own. There was only one possible conclusion: someone had abducted him. It couldn't be Stockman this time, so it had to be the Kraang. The slimy aliens obviously didn't feel compelled to abide by Stockman's rules anymore.

After the watchman's departure, April had immediately tried to contact Leatherhead, but she hadn't been able to reach his mind. It happened sometimes, when he was in a fit of rage. She would have to try again later.

Her helplessness was driving her mad. She had to do something, anything.

_Dad, where are you? What are they doing to you?_

April suddenly wondered what Stockman would do with her now that her father was gone. Would he keep her a prisoner? Would he get rid of her, plain and simple? Or exchange her against her father? But in that case, Kirby O'Neil would never accept to work for him again.

She clenched her fists. She could at least check that. All she had to do was sneak in the communication room and read the last messages from the main facility. She had done that countless time and she knew that they didn't always leave someone on duty here. The building was small and unimportant – the perfect place to hide an unwelcomed guest like her.

Her decision taken, she unlocked her door and left her room on tip-toe.

She used her psychic abilities to stay away from the patrolling guards. When she arrived at the communication room, she couldn't help smiling. Nobody was there. She quickly entered the room and headed towards the computer in sleeping mode.

She was utterly disappointed. There was no message about her or Kirby O'Neil. Her little trip had been for nothing. She sighed and was heading for the corridor when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps. Spinning quickly, she searched the room for a hiding place and was relieved to find a closet big enough for someone her size. She hurried inside and slid the doors so that she could still see inside the room through a narrow slit.

The guard who had just entered the room showed no sign that he had noticed anything. To April's dismay, he sat down at the desk.

Since then, she had been waiting.

* * *

Another half an hour passed. A substantial part of April was upset to be in such a ridiculous situation, huddled in a closet. Another equally substantial part of the red-haired girl was getting bored. She bit her lower lip. Would this guard ever leave the room?

Her mind was beginning to wander. She looked sadly at her wrists. They bore red marks because of the handcuffs she regularly had to wear, as did her ankles. True, she could have avoided it if she had complied with staying away from the mutants in Stockman's cells. But she was attracted to them, fascinated even. The existence of the mutagen filled her with wonder, while the fate of the creatures mutated by Stockman horrified her.

On a whim, Stockman had allowed her to bring them food, on the condition that she remained chained. He was mad, but he wasn't a fool. Maybe he guessed her intention to help them.

The young girl shook her head. She would never have thought that she would be able to contact them – telepathically.

She remembered the first time she had understood that she had telepathic abilities. It had been during her first meeting with the giant mutant alligator. Unlike the other mutants, he hadn't seemed disoriented. He had been very calm, even politely addressing the cell guard – something the other mutants never did. Until he had set eyes on her, and become berserk. His fury had been terrifying to witness, but April couldn't have helped noticing the intense pain behind the anger and something inside her had reached to soothe him.

_Don't worry, I mean you no harm._

She didn't think that he had heard her, but for a split second their minds had touched and she had felt his suffering. She had immediately recoiled in surprise and pain. Luckily, the cell guard had thought that it was from fear, and laughed at seeing her stumble.

She had gone back regularly to visit the alligator. He had never lost his temper again in her presence. She thought that he appreciated her. Even if they never spoke together, she felt a bound between them. It may have been because they were both prisoners. She had tried to contact him telepathically again, but to no avail.

Later, she had found the transmitters. They had the appearance of smooth, tiny spheres. She liked to think of them as phones, specially designed for people like her. It had been pure chance that she had understood what she could do with them. She had considered giving one to her father, on one of the rare occasions where they were allowed to see each other, but she decided against it. Her father would certainly have tried to convince her not to use the transmitters, terrified that this could get his sweet baby girl in trouble. So April had waited for the right opportunity and found a way to give one to the alligator mutant.

She smiled, remembering the first time she had talked with him. He had been surprised at first, but also happy to have someone to talk to. He had told her his story and everything he knew about the Kraang. They had made escape plans, both for them and the other imprisoned mutants.

However, April refused to leave her father in Stockman's claws. In the end, the alligator mutant had escaped alone. He still had the transmitter with him and she contacted him every evening. He had become a dear friend and an efficient ally.

He had been the first mutant to escape, but not the last. April had helped with that, leaving no trail. She didn't know if Stockman had suspicions, but he never confronted her.

The unmistakable sound of footsteps brought her back to the present moment. April told herself off. She had to stay focused, this was a dangerous situation.

She leaned forward. Maybe the guard had finally decided to take a break?

The closet's doors were brutally opened, and April blinked, blinded by the light.

In front of her, Stockman grimaced.

"So it was true. How did you get out of your room?" He demanded.

April was thinking fast. It seemed that the guard had heard her after all. What a fool she had been. He must have sent a message to Stockman right away.

"I was taking a nap," she pretended lamely, if bravely.

He smacked her, hard. She felt her cheek burn and tasted blood. It was the first time that he raised a hand to her. The situation must be really upsetting him.

"How?" He repeated.

April abandoned every pretense.

"Where is my father?" She replied fiercely.

When Stockman didn't answer, she tried to push him back to run away. She did hit his nose, but he immediately grasped her wrists with one hand, preventing her from doing it again. The man was undoubtedly stronger than her.

"You little…" Stockman foamed at the mouth.

He smacked her again with his free hand.

April had been in dangerous situations before. However, she was beginning to doubt her ability to get out of this one. She felt tears coming to her eyes but she refused to let them flow. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to focus on the tiny transmitter she always kept on her, safely hidden and in permanent contact with her bare skin.

"You're coming with me," Stockman said, shaking her. "You're my last chance to show the Kraang that I am a reliable ally."

She gritted her teeth. She was doing her best to keep the throbbing pain at bay, but it threatened to break her focus. _Please_ , she thought, talking to no one in particular. _Please, let him answer_.

Stockman was talking to a group of guards next to him. One of them, a woman with a beautiful face, poured the content of a small bottle on a tissue. Were they going to drug her?

When April finally reached her alligator friend's mind, she knew that she had only seconds before falling into unconsciousness.


	26. In A Hurry

At Leatherhead's statement, there was a concerto of indignant shouts in the kitchen. The shrieks of both Donatello were especially piercing, and Leatherhead started.

"Be quiet," he growled. "I can't understand what April is trying to say."

The kitchen instantly fell silent.

"She's confused," Leatherhead added. "She's thinking too fast. There is something about… a closet? And… a bladder?"

The mutant alligator blinked, taken aback. April made no sense.

Leonardo was thinking fast. He didn't know exactly how April's abilities worked, but he knew from his own April that she controlled them better when she was calm and focused, something this April obviously wasn't. He decided to interfere.

"May I?" He asked, extending his hand to Leatherhead's left wrist.

The mutant alligator considered him for a second before nodding and unwrapping the length of cloth that protected his precious transmitter. Forcing his frantic worry to the back of his mind, Leonardo delicately touched the tiny sphere and closed his eyes.

It was an understatement to say that the signal wasn't clear. April's thoughts were chaotic and Leonardo could feel her pain. He winced and used his experience in meditation to force an area of calm. He felt April's mind relax slightly. Leatherhead was a quiet presence in the background.

_April, can you hear me?_

_Leo, is that you?_ April's thoughts were definitely clearer now. _Are you with the Gator Man? Good, that's good. I… I don't have much time…_

 _April, focus,_ Leonardo thought to her with all the conviction he could gather. _Where are you? Who hurt you?_

 _In one of Stockman's buildings,_ she answered. _He found me out. He wants to take me to the Kraang…_

She was beginning to panic again. Her thoughts came in waves and Leonardo focused even harder to understand their meaning.

_They-are-drugging-me-he-hit-me-he's-losing-it-my-father's-missing-I-need-help_

The signal abruptly died and Leonardo opened his eyes. In front of him, Leatherhead growled menacingly.

Leonardo turned to the six other turtles. The Donatello of this world pulled himself out of his Raphael's restraining embrace – he must have tried to interfere with the conversation – and grasped Leonardo's shoulders.

"What's happening? Where is April?"

Leonardo breathed deeply and summarized the conversation.

"Stockman is taking her to the Kraang. Her father is missing. Stockman hit her, so that's why she's in pain right now. They drugged her and we lost the contact."

The blue-clad turtle felt Donatello's fingers go deeper into his skin.

"But where is she?" He asked desperately.

Leonardo shook his head.

"She didn't know, and neither do I. But if Stockman wants to deliver her to the Kraang, he will probably do it in a place he knows well. I bet that they are heading for the main facility."

Donatello let go of Leonardo and ran to the dojo where he had left his bo staff.

"Then let's go," he said, returning to the kitchen.

His brother Michelangelo nodded with an unsure expression. His brother Raphael crossed his arms and grimaced. He felt sore after his fight with the other Raphael.

"Donnie, I'm usually the first one to rush into a fight, but are you sure it's the best thing to do?"

Master Splinter came closer to his purple-clad son and put his hands on Donatello's shoulders.

"Donatello, Stockman will have his army with him. The Kraang probably will, too. How do you intend to help this April? You won't be victorious in an open fight."

Donatello fought back his tears. He just wanted to run out of the lair and hit everyone and everything standing between him and the hurting April. In the small part of his mind which was still able to think clearly, he knew that the fall of a meteorite on New York at this precise moment was more likely than the success of such a strategy.

"But she needs us - she needs _me_ \- right now! I won't fail her again!" He said desperately.

"And you won't," Leatherhead said fiercely. "These people will pay for what they did."

He didn't precise if he wanted to take revenge on Stockman or the Kraang. _Probably both_ , Leonardo thought. Perfect. Now he had to add an uncontrollable Leatherhead to the mix. As if his hastily devised plan wasn't dubious enough.

The blue-clad turtle looked at his brothers. He could see their anger in their eyes, but they had remained silent, trusting him to find the best course of action.

The other Donatello noticed the silent exchange and addressed Leonardo frenetically.

"What are you going to do now? Do you still believe that we have the time to _think about it_?"

Leonardo looked him in the eye.

"No, we have to take action now," he replied.

Seeing Splinter and his son Raphael frown, he quickly went on.

"We are outnumbered and we won't be able to hack the exoskeletons twice. Stockman is no fool. Master Splinter is right, we stand no chance in a fair fight."

This time, it was Donatello's turn to frown. Leonardo wasn't helping. But Leonardo's brother Raphael spoke before the purple-clad turtle could.

"And since when are you playing fair? Just get to the plan," he teased his brother.

Leonardo smiled at him.

"First, we know that April was locked up miles away from the main facility. Considering that she didn't know the exact location, it must be an estimation based on the time they took to drive there. Donnie, can you estimate how much time they will need to come back to the main building?"

"It depends heavily on the traffic," his brother replied. "Considering the hour of day, the time of year and the weather…" Donatello's lips silently moved while he was making calculations. "At least half an hour. If they are lucky."

"Then it's the time we have to get ready," Leonardo went on. "Did you discover anything useful in Stockman's files?"

This time, the Donatello of this world answered.

"A lot of Kraang blueprints. Data about staff members. Nothing about April."

"Staff members, that's useful," Leonardo mused. "Both the scientists and the guards?"

"Yes, but…"

"Perfect. Can you tell me how many guards he's likely to have, and with which training?"

"I could look at it, but…"

"You're amazing," Leonardo cut him off. "Please do that and meet us back in five minutes."

The blue-clad turtle pushed the Donatello of this world out of the kitchen. Bemused, the genius didn't protest and set off on his appointed task.

Leonardo turned to the Michelangelo who wasn't his brother next.

"Mikey, the first time we meet, you told me about a hideout full of mutants. That's where your friend Mondo lives, right?"

"Absolutely!" Michelangelo answered with enthusiasm. "Why? Do you think April will want to live there when we will have rescued her?"

"No, I was wondering if some of them would be willing to have a rematch with Stockman. We need all the help we can find."

"Oooh, I see! I'll call Mondo and ask him right away!"

"If they do, tell them to head for Stockman's facility and wait for us here. Tell them to use the rooftops!"

Then Leonardo remembered Mondo and how unstealthy he had been.

"Maybe you could meet them halfway and guide them. With my Mikey and Leatherhead, if he agrees?"

Leonardo turned to the mutant alligator, who nodded.

"I have already met some of them. I am certain that they would be glad to help," Leatherhead replied.

"Perfect. Mikey?" Leonardo turned to his brother.

"You know how much I like to meet new people, Leo," Michelangelo joyfully answered. "Let's do this."

Both Michelangelo and Leatherhead left the kitchen.

Leonardo turned to the Raphael who wasn't his brother. The red-clad turtle's arms were still crossed.

"If you would be willing to help," Leonardo began hesitantly.

Raphael cut him off.

"Get straight to the point," he said grudgingly. "I'm not letting my brothers do the hard work alone."

"We don't want the Purple Dragons to help Stockman this time," Leonardo went on, secretly relieved. "Do you happen to know where their hideout is?"

Raphael shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Would you, possibly with Casey's help…"

"Of course I'm calling Casey," Raphael cut him off again. "I said, get straight to the point."

Leonardo shrugged.

"Then go to that place, wherever it is, and trash it. And make sure Hun knows about it. Then join us at Stockman's facility."

Raphael's eyes widened.

"You want me to trash their place?"

"The worst, the better," Leonardo replied. "Donnie will help you with their security system."

Leonardo's purple-clad brother unsheathed his bo staff.

"Will do. Maybe I will even help with the trashing part."

He made his weapon spin, his expression a mask of controlled fury that made both Raphael proud.

Leonardo rolled his eyes.

"Don't linger there when it is done. We will need your help with April."

Donatello nodded and left the room, quickly followed by the Raphael of this world, momentarily appeased by the enticing prospect of trashing something.

A few seconds later, the other Donatello ran back to the kitchen.

"I have the data you asked for," he said triumphantly. "Uh… where are the others?"

"Already at work, genius," Leonardo's red-clad brother answered. "What's our role in this?" He asked the blue-clad turtle.

"We go straight to Stockman's facility and see what we can learn. If you have anything that could be useful, like easily-set traps," Leonardo added towards Donatello, "now would be the perfect time to take it."

Master Splinter, who had remained silent the whole time, finally spoke.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Leonardo," he said quietly, his tone revealing nothing of his deep concern, nor of the fact he was impressed.

"Don't worry, Master Splinter," Leonardo answered, bowing.

 _I can only hope I do_ , he thought. _This world is already short of one turtle._

* * *

It turned out that Donatello had many a useful thing in his lab, like flash grenades. Leonardo's brother Raphael had almost choked when he had learned about it.

"And you only remember that now?"

"It has been a long time since I designed them, just for fun," Donatello shrugged.

The purple-clad turtle took a tube with warning signs written all over it.

"And this is an all-purpose glue," he said proudly. He didn't mind that Leonardo had taken matters into his own hands. If anything, it was reassuring. The blue-clad turtle seemed so confident. "Do you think it can be useful?" Donatello asked Leonardo.

"Why not?" Leonardo said, taking a few flash grenades.

Donatello nodded and added a few other items in the pockets of the jacket he wore again.

"Gentlemen, it's time to go," Leonardo told them, consulting his T-phone. "Let's not keep a lady waiting."

* * *

When Leonardo, his brother Raphael and the Donatello of this world arrived at Stockman's facility, they could only admire the hard work that had been done. From the way the place looked, you would never have guessed that there had been a fight the day before.

Raphael whistled.

"That guy is efficient, I'll give him that."

Leonardo frowned.

"I would have preferred a nice confusion, but I suppose we can create it ourselves."

Donatello looked at him with curiosity.

"What do we do now?"

"We enter the building without being noticed and we go back to the control room. That's where the Kraang will most likely appear, and they have April's dad."

Donatello's eyes widened.

"How? I didn't manage to hack the security system last time."

Leonardo took his T-phone and dialed a number.

"This time we will use the main entrance. How stealthy can you be?"

Donatello looked at him, confused.

"I'm really good," he answered truthfully. "One of the rare ninja abilities I'm better at than my brother Raphael."

Leonardo smiled at him.

"Don't sell yourself short, Donnie."

He moved away to make his call.

"He's right, you know," Raphael stated quietly. "I don't know about you, but my Donnie is an excellent ninja."

Donatello looked at him, thankful.

"Why does he want to know that?"

"Leo likes to assess every aspect of a situation before leading us into an enemy's lair," Raphael answered. "He says that every detail counts. Of course, we're teasing him regularly about it."

"And how good is he?" Donatello dared to ask. "As a leader, I mean."

Raphael half-groaned and half-laughed.

"Hey… we're still alive, right? So I guess he's not that bad," he finally answered. "But don't tell him I said that," he added menacingly.

"Of course not," Donatello quickly answered.

At that moment, Leonardo came back.

"Three minutes," he said to Raphael. "Will you be ready?"

"Oh yes," his brother replied. "This is going to be quite a show."

Donatello tilted his head. He felt that he was missing something.

"Are we going to fight our way in after all?"

"Absolutely not," Leonardo shook his head. "At my signal, we sneak inside. Don't make a sound and don't be seen."

A while later, they heard the sound of a scooter. The scooter stopped in front of the building's entrance and a young man got off it. With a square cardboard box in his hand, he rang at the door.

"A pizza delivery boy?" Donatello frowned. "That's your distraction? I'm not so sure about it."

Leonardo shook his head.

"Turtle of little faith," he said. "Watch and learn."

Someone opened the door and a discussion began between a guard and the delivery boy.

Leonardo nodded to Raphael, who smiled and whistled something. A few seconds later, a huge flock of pigeons threw itself at the pizza and the guard.

"Now," Leonardo whispered. Without another word, he headed for the door, using the confusion to disappear into the building. A proud Raphael and an astounded Donatello followed him.

Pigeons had flown into the building and were leaving droppings everywhere. It was child's play for the three ninjas to cross the entrance room and enter an elevator without being noticed. Inside, they used a trapdoor to get above.

"Now to the fifth floor," Leonardo whispered before starting to climb.

Feeling allowed to speak, Donatello uttered a few incredulous words.

"I can't believe it. Seriously. How did this even work?"

Below him, Raphael savored every word.

"Never underestimate the power of a true master."

Donatello closed his eyes.

"A _pigeon_ master."

"A useful gift, as you just witnessed," Leonardo interjected. Now be quiet."

* * *

The Raphael of this world was having the time of his life. Right now, he was happily trashing the Purple Dragons hideout with Casey's help. Leonardo's brother Donatello was doing his fair share of the work too. Raphael was almost afraid to see him methodically reducing the Purple Dragons furniture to pieces of wood and fabric.

Hun and most of the Purple Dragons were gone, but the hideout wasn't entirely deserted. So Raphael had the pleasure to knock down plenty of unsuspecting gang members.

 _Well, at least they were unsuspecting at the beginning_ , Raphael thought. Donatello had disabled their security system with ease and they had taken the Purple Dragons by surprise. Even better, none of the humans had exoskeletons.

This was glorious. Raphael really should hang out with his Donatello more often. Who would have thought that the genius could be such an excellent partner-in-crime?

But all good things must come to an end, and they were finally done. With a grin, Raphael took the phone of an unconscious Purple Dragon and took photos of the scene. How he would have liked to witness Hun's reaction when he would receive them.

* * *

Leatherhead was surprised to see how many mutants had followed Mondo. The short gecko didn't strike him as the eloquent type. But he quickly understood that they were coming to Michelangelo's aid. The orange-clad turtle was much appreciated by the mutant community. He had helped a lot of them, and they were returning the favor.

 _And I guess that they are eager to take revenge on Stockman, too_ , Leatherhead thought.

Behind him, Leonardo's brother Michelangelo was over the moon. He was running from mutant to mutant and mischievously using his resemblance with the Michelangelo of this world to confuse them.

Leatherhead shook his head. Despite the severity of the situation, the orange-clad turtle's antics amused him. It even helped him to keep a cool head and stay out of his battle fury. He didn't want to set his anger free right now. _Later, when it will help April, I will,_ he thought gloomily.

Leonardo's brother suddenly slid beside him and smiled at him.

"Are you okay, Leatherhead?" He asked fondly.

"Yes, my friend. Thanks for your help," Leatherhead answered. He was amazed at how quickly he had grown accustomed to the orange-clad turtle. Or turtles.

"Of course we would help," Michelangelo nodded seriously. "Our April is family. And family matters a lot to us. Family and friends."

Michelangelo grinned at Leatherhead, who couldn't help smiling back.

"You don't seem very concerned," the alligator nonetheless remarked.

Michelangelo shrugged.

"No need to be. Leo will get us through. He has a knack for doing it. Especially when the situation is desperate."

"So you think it is desperate," Leatherhead frowned.

Michelangelo smiled knowingly.

"Don't you?"

* * *

Leonardo, his brother Raphael and the Donatello of this world had reached the control room without any problem. The guards they had knocked out on the way never saw them come. They had stolen a swipe card to deactivate the lasers of the airlock, and were now inside the control room itself. Leonardo indicated the ceiling and they hid among the cables.

Leonardo had contacted his brothers. They would stay outside with Donatello's brothers, Casey Jones, Leatherhead and the other mutants and patrol the surroundings. If April was in a car, there was a chance that they could intercept it and rescue her before Stockman had a chance to get inside. But there were other possibilities, as Donatello had realized a while ago. She could be in a helicopter. Or Stockman could have chosen an entirely different building for his meeting with the Kraang. Donatello wondered if Leonardo was conscious of these facts, but he didn't dare to ask him. He needed to believe that the blue-clad turtle knew what he was doing, or he would panic.

The purple-clad turtle focused on his task. His mission was to head for the control panel and prepare to deactivate the alarms and cameras in case they needed reinforcements inside. A lot of guards were patrolling the room, but none of them was looking at the ceiling.

A phone biped and one of the guards answered it. He listened for a while before hanging up.

"The boss will be here in a minute," he told another guard. "He's bringing the girl. Spread the word."

The three turtles hanging from the ceiling tensed. Donatello held his breath. They were almost there.

Almost.


	27. Piece Of Cake

Outside the building, the group of the Michelangelo and Leatherhead had met the group of Raphael, Casey Jones and Donatello.

Everyone was gathered on a rooftop near Stockman's facility. Luckily, they hadn't been noticed by the humans in the streets below. It wasn't evening yet, and it helped that the weather was so cloudy. It would probably be raining soon. People were hurrying home or in the stores and kept their eyes on the ground.

Raphael was watching Stockman's building. There was some sort of commotion in front of the main entrance, with guards hastily washing the pavement. He wondered what had happened.

The red-clad turtle hadn't been happy to learn that his brother Donatello, his double and Leonardo had already entered the building, but he could understand the logic. Three ninja turtles could sneak in and out easier than a gang of mutants with no specific training. He glanced at the mutants in question. A few of them really puzzled him. How on Earth could you merge with garbage?

His phone buzzed, as did the other turtles' phones. He checked it. He had a text from Leonardo.

_Stockman is supposed to arrive soon. Don't let him enter the building if you can avoid it. Anything out of the ordinary?_

Raphael hesitated. He was still unsure about what to think of the blue-clad leader, but he was done being openly hostile. He texted back.

He had just sent his message when he heard the engines. Next to him, Leonardo's brother Donatello leaned forward.

"There is more than just one car."

They didn't have to wait long. Five pickups appeared on the street and came to a screeching halt in front of the facility. Armed guards came out of four of them and began securing the area, driving the passersby away.

Raphael grasped his sai.

"Finally," he said, preparing to jump down.

"Wait," Donatello told him. "We have to be sure that they have April."

"They do," Leatherhead growled. "I know those pickups. Stockman uses them to transport his prisoners."

The alligator's eyes went white and he growled menacingly.

"But it won't last."

Without another word, Leatherhead jumped on the closest pickup and flattened it.

"That's our cue, guys," Leonardo's brother Michelangelo said. "Let's support the giant alligator!"

With a battle cry that Raphael didn't quite understand, he jumped too.

The rest of the group quickly followed. The armed guards opened fire, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

Inside the building, Leonardo was checking his texts. Even the Raphael of this world had answered him, which was a pleasant surprise.

Despite the fact that he was hanging from the ceiling in the middle of a room full of guards, he couldn't help smiling at seeing the answers.

_We're in another universe. What's ordinary with that? If you mean the mad scientist who abducted a sweet April - curses upon him and his computers for generations - we didn't see him yet._

Donnie.

_Their Raph is almost being nice. Does it count?_

His Mikey.

_No, sir! Staying on alert, sir!_

The other Mikey.

_Apart from a bunch of carnival mutants, nothing._

Raphael. Good to know he also had a deadpan humor in this universe.

Leonardo's smile vanished a few seconds later, when he received four versions of a far briefer message.

_They're here._

He wished he could see what was happening outside. In the control room, everything was quiet. He waved to the Donatello of this world to deactivate the alarms and cameras while the guards were looking elsewhere.

Below Leonardo, the guard who had answered his phone earlier was now becoming agitated.

"The boss should be here now," he muttered under his breath. "What could be delaying him? And why isn't Hun already there?"

Suddenly, pink lights illuminated the room.

"Curse these aliens and their unearthly punctuality," the guard spat.

Leonardo breathed deeply and exchanged a worried look with his brother Raphael. They could only hope that the Kraang would bring Kirby O'Neil with them. If they had left him in their home world, the turtles would be unable to help.

When April's father exited one of the portals, tied up and gagged, Leonardo let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Kraang brought the human that is the human that the human wanted Kraang to bring," a robot alien said. "Where is the human that is the human that Kraang wanted the human to bring?"

One of the guards stepped forward.

"Our leader will be here soon," he answered.

_No he won't,_ Leonardo hoped silently.

They had to act now. He motioned to Raphael and Donatello to shield their eyes. Closing his own eyes, he threw three of Donatello's flash grenades.

In the confusion that followed, he quickly moved until he was directly above Kirby O'Neil, and grabbed him by his ties.

"Sorry, sir," he whispered to the surprised human before launching him in Raphael's direction.

His brother caught the scientist in midair and threw him again in Donatello's direction. In the meantime, Leonardo had moved and was ready to catch the poor scientist again.

Tossed about by the three turtles, April's father soon reached the exit. Leonardo unsheathed one of his katana and cut Kirby's ties and his gag.

"You… you're the one Stockman captured," Kirby said, blinking.

"Yes," Leonardo answered. "Let's go."

They left, leaving behind the furious shouts of the Kraang who had just realized that their prisoner was missing. Raphael and Donatello were supporting Kirby O'Neil who unsurprisingly felt wobbly while Leonardo was clearing their way out. He was leading them up, wanting to escape by the rooftop.

"I don't understand," Kirby panted. "Where is my daughter?"

"Uh, not far from here," Leonardo evaded the question.

When they arrived on the last floor, Leonardo opened a window. No alarm rang.

"Nice job, Donnie," he said.

"You're welcome," Donatello answered reluctantly. He would have preferred to rescue April rather than her father.

The three ninja helped Kirby O'Neil out. From their high up position, they had a perfect view on the battle below. Kirby's mouth dropped.

"What in the world is happening here?"

"Not now, sorry," Leonardo said. He jumped on another rooftop. The others followed, Raphael carrying the tall human.

"Can we trust you to stay here while we help our friends?" Leonardo asked Kirby. "We won't be long."

Too shocked to protest, the scientist nodded. Leonardo smiled at him before hurrying to join the fight.

* * *

Leatherhead and the other mutants had disposed of most of the guards. The remaining humans were protecting the last pickup.

"Leo!" Michelangelo exclaimed when his blue-clad brother landed next to him. "Leatherhead thinks that April is inside! Stockman must be with her!"

Leonardo looked at the battle scene. It had only been minutes since the beginning of the fight and it looked like it was already over. He noticed the fragments of metal scattered on the tarmac and nodded, impressed.

"You have been really efficient."

Michelangelo beamed.

"Piece of cake! Everyone was more than happy to help!"

Leatherhead roared and knocked down the remaining guards in an impressive wave of his tail. He then jumped on the pickup, intending to open it like a tin can.

It happened to be a bad idea. The pickup metal parts must have been in contact with an electricity source, because the mutant alligator was shocked. He fell on the ground, where he remained motionless.

"Leatherhead!" Both Michelangelo shouted. They ran to the mutant to check up on him. Leonardo hurried behind them.

"He's still breathing," Michelangelo told his blue-clad brother with deep relief.

They heard Stockman's voice.

"Back off, you disgusting mutants! Let me go or I'll harm the girl!"

* * *

Inside the vehicle, April was conscious again. She was tied up and still hurting from Stockman's smacks, but she was otherwise uninjured. Eyes still closed, she immediately tried to contact Leatherhead. It didn't work through her transmitter, but she felt his mind nearby. This meant that he was only meters away from her. Hope rose in her chest.

However, when she opened her eyes, Stockman was pressing a gun against her forehead.

This wasn't good.

The scientist was looking at a screen in front of the car. It displayed the panoramic view of an impressive battle scene. April recognized several mutants she had anonymously helped to free.

_April?_

_Leo?_

_April! I'm glad to hear you. How is it inside?_

_I've had better days. There is a gun pressed against my head._

_Can you free yourself?_

April thought about it.

_It's a Kraang design, which means I can deactivate it. But I won't._

_What? Why not?_ Leonardo was dumbfounded.

_Because Stockman is leading me to my father! The Kraang have him, Leo, I have to…_

April cut herself off. The relief she felt in Leonardo's thoughts made no sense.

_I'm not abandoning my father,_ she insisted.

_No need to. We already rescued him._

_You did?_ April couldn't believe it, but she knew that Leonardo wasn't lying.

_Yes. Now, about this gun…_

April closed her eyes and focused.

_Done._

_Perfect. Can you run?_

_Not really. I can skip, though._

_Uh… Then at my signal, skip to the rear. Three… Two… One… Now!_

April rolled over and stood up like a gymnast. Stockman pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't shoot.

"You… What have you done?" He shouted.

April began skipping. She felt totally ridiculous. Stockman launched himself at her, but before he could grab her, the rear doors of the pickup were pulled open and she fell out of the vehicle.

Luckily for her, she landed softly on a tangle of limbs.

%%%%

The Donatello of this world hadn't imagined his encounter with April that way. He had dreamed of a romantic meeting, where he would be her savior and she would fell in his awaiting arms.

Maybe it would have happened if Casey Jones hadn't decided that he wanted to be her savior too.

When Leonardo had explained that April was going to jump from the pickup after his brother Raphael opened it from the rear with his sai, the human boy had done exactly the same as Donatello.

He had run to the back of the pickup.

And of course, the two of them had collided.

Donatello grimaced. At least they had spared her a nasty fall on the tarmac.

* * *

Leonardo was relieved to see April in one piece. He jumped into the pickup and put the sharp blade of a katana on Stockman's neck.

"Don't move," he warned him.

"You fool," Stockman uttered through gritted teeth. "You need me. I'm the only one able to stop the Kraang and prevent the police from investigating. Do you really want them to know about you?"

Leonardo turned slightly toward Stockman's facility. Pink lights were sporadically coming from the windows.

He glanced at the street. Now that the guards weren't keeping people away, the area wouldn't remain deserted for long. Besides, the police would probably arrive soon and the place was crowded with mutants.

He didn't like it one bit, but Stockman was right.

"Alright," he answered. "But you better stay away from us."

Leading him outside, he addressed the others.

"We're leaving. You and you," Leonardo pointed two big mutants out, "carry Leatherhead. Donnie and Raph," the blue-clad turtle looked at the two ninja who were with him in the control room, "collect our honored guest."

The two turtles nodded, immediately understanding that he meant Kirby O'Neil. Donatello reluctantly let April with Casey and followed Leonardo's red-clad brother.

The mutants began to withdraw. When they were all gone, Leonardo pushed Stockman inside the building and vanished.

However, he didn't get far.

"You let him go," the Raphael of this world said. "Well, I won't."

"I had no choice," Leonardo answered. "He's right, he is the only one able to deal with the police _and_ the Kraang right now."

"He deserves far worse for what he did!" Raphael shouted.

"I know! But we have to focus on getting everyone out of here safely, not on getting revenge!"

"Nonsense," Raphael shook his head. "If you don't want to deal with him, then I…"

"Watch out!" Leonardo suddenly shouted, and he pushed the red-clad turtle out of the way of a laser blast. Apparently, Stockman had found another weapon.

Leonardo winced. The blast had grazed his right arm. He tried to move it and was relieved that it worked. The injury must be superficial. He watched his surroundings, but they were now hidden from the facility.

"What are you two doing? Everyone is waiting for you," a Michelangelo's voice said from above. "And Leatherhead is awake!"

It was Raphael's brother.

"We're coming," Leonardo said. Gritting his teeth, he began to climb the building, favoring his left arm. "Tell the others to begin the journey home. We can't linger here."

"Leo, I…" Raphael hadn't moved, obviously in shock. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, just move!" Leonardo told him firmly, ignoring the pain.

This was going to be a long way home.

* * *

Night was finally falling and Leonardo managed to hide his injury until they were back in the sewers. They had parted with the other mutants and the turtles were going back to the lair with April, Casey, Kirby and Leatherhead.

April was holding her father's hand while discussing with the Donatello of this world. She was grateful that he had helped to rescue Kirby, and Donatello had discreetly stuck his tongue out at Casey. A childish move, perhaps, but the purple-clad turtle didn't mind. He felt lighter than he had in ages.

Kirby was talking to Leatherhead. He found it hard to believe that this giant mutant alligator was an excellent friend of his daughter. He obviously had a lot of catching up to do.

The Michelangelo of this world was trying to understand why his brother Raphael was so morose. They had just won a great victory!

Beside Raphael, Casey Jones was lost in thought. He was amazed by April. That girl was different from the other girls he knew. He wanted to get to know her.

A narrower pathway got the better of Leonardo's resolve to wait until they were in the lair and he couldn't help moaning when his right arm brushed past the wall.

His brothers, who were chatting lightly next to him, noticed it immediately and Leonardo inwardly sighed.

"Leonardo," Donatello began with a calm, controlled tone. "Are you hurt?"

"A laser blast grazed my right arm," Leonardo admitted sheepishly. "It's superficial, though."

"Sure, Leo," Donatello said unfazed. "Now show me."

Leonardo obeyed, and Donatello used the light of his T-phone to check the injury. After a while, he nodded relieved to Raphael and Michelangelo.

"It is superficial."

"I told you…" Leonardo began.

"I'm not talking to _you_ ," Donatello reprimanded him. "I thought we agreed on not hiding injuries from one another."

"I would have told you when we would have arrived at the lair," Leonardo mumbled. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument.

"We will have to clean it," Donatello went on, ignoring Leonardo's reply. "And Leo will have to avoid abrupt moves in the days to come. Other than that, he will be fine."

Michelangelo put his arm around Leonardo's shell, carefully avoiding touching his brother's injury.

"Don't worry, Leo. We will take good care of you."

"I don't… Whatever," Leonardo sighed. He decided to enjoy the hug.

"And how did you get injured?" Raphael asked suspiciously.

"In a fight, stuff happens," Leonardo shrugged with only one shoulder. "It won't be the first time. Can't we just rejoice that we found April and her father?"

Raphael looked at him with narrowed eyes. He had a suspicion that his morose double was involved. The red-clad turtle contemplated confronting him, but he decided against it. From the way the other Raphael looked, he already felt guilty enough. And Leonardo's brother knew how much guilt could hurt.

He patted Leonardo's shell.

"If you say so, brother. Now let's see if this April can help us go home. Their lair is going to be even more crowded now."


	28. Truth Be Told

It was an understatement to say that Splinter was relieved to see his sons again. He didn't even protest at the invasion of his lair. He did, however, order his son Raphael to clean up the living room that had been trashed during his wrestling with Leonardo's Raphael. To the surprise of almost everyone, he did so without complaining.

As promised, Donatello cleaned his brother's injury. Leonardo obediently complied with each of his requests in the hope of soothing him. In the end, Donatello sighed, put his arms around his brother's neck and hugged him tightly.

"You're an idiot," he whispered.

"Duly noted," Leonardo whispered back.

Then Donatello locked himself up in the lab with his double, April and Leatherhead to try to understand how April's abilities had affected two universes. Splinter was entertaining Kirby O'Neil in the dojo and Casey had left with the promise to come back soon.

Leonardo hesitated. On the newly rearranged couch, both Michelangelo were challenging his Raphael to beat them on a video game. When Raphael rose to the challenge, Leonardo discreetly slipped away.

As soon as he had been done cleaning, the Raphael of this world had disappeared in his room. Leonardo thought he knew why, and he refused to let the red-clad turtle fester in his misery. He knocked at Raphael's door.

"Who is there?" A voice grouched.

"It's me," Leonardo answered. "May I come in?"

A silence.

"Yes." The voice was hesitant now.

Leonardo pushed the door open. Raphael was curled up in his hammock, cuddling his pet turtle Spike in his arms and carefully averting his eyes.

The blue-clad turtle closed the door and took a chair next to Raphael.

"Are you alright?" He asked him.

It caught Raphael's attention.

"Am I alright? Are you insane? You're the one who ended up hurt. Because of me."

Raphael turned his head away.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't paying attention to Stockman anymore. My mistake," Leonardo answered lightly.

Raphael grunted.

"You're impossible."

Leonardo smiled. He made sure it showed in his voice.

"Something my own Raphael tells me on a regularly basis. Come on. You should be enjoying our victory."

"Don't tell me what I am supposed to do," Raphael grumbled. But he straightened up in his hammock and looked Leonardo in the eye for the first time since the blue-clad turtle had entered the room.

"Anyway, thanks for saving my life. I owe you one."

Leonardo extended his hand.

"Don't mention it. We don't keep track of who saves whom, it happens all the time."

Raphael took his hand and shook it.

"And, uh… I also wanted to say that…I mean, I'm sorry for acting like a jerk towards you. Kind of."

"Apology accepted."

Raphael suddenly smiled.

"And now that I have exhausted my apologizing quota for the year to come, what do we do?"

Leonardo leaned back.

"Well, you did mention a win, my brother Michelangelo and a lace apron once. Care to explain?"

Raphael's green eyes sparkled.

"With pleasure."

* * *

They ordered pizza for dinner, lots and lots of pizzas. Raphael had found a lace apron only Splinter knew where and Leonardo's Michelangelo had sullenly taken it. After a while, he had decided to make the best out of it, striking a pose when his brothers had mercilessly shot photos of him.

April was sitting next to her father and patted his arm constantly, as if she was afraid to lose him again.

For the first time, Leonardo felt at ease with each of the three turtles of this world and he enjoyed it immensely.

Both Donatello had tried to explain to the others what they had discovered, but they had to give up. In the end, Leonardo's purple-clad brother simply told them that April and Leatherhead had been experimenting with Kraang portals for a while and that he thought he knew where they had gone wrong. Using parts of Kraang technology that Leatherhead had stolen and kept in his hideout, the two geniuses thought that they would be able to design a return home portal in only a few days.

* * *

The next morning, Leonardo had recruited his brothers Michelangelo and Raphael and was improvising training for the Raphael and Michelangelo of this world. Surprisingly, it had been Raphael himself who had asked for it. Leonardo's Donatello had extorted from his blue-clad brother the solemn promise that he would not only avoid using his injured arm but also stay on the sideline.

The two turtles of this world were trying to imitate the team moves of their doubles, with Leonardo encouraging and guiding them. They were making satisfying progress, and the Michelangelo of this word chose to express his happiness by swirling his kusarigama while in precarious balance on Raphael's shoulders. It surprised his brother, who stepped aside. Michelangelo struggled to keep his balance and lost track of the end of his kusarigama, who hit Splinter's frame of Tang Shen and Miwa. The frame flew across the room, to Michelangelo's dismay.

"Oops, I'm sorry!" He immediately said.

"You're lucky it's shatterproof glass," his brother Raphael smirked. "You know how Father likes this picture."

Michelangelo jumped from Raphael's shoulders to better stick his tongue out at him. Then he leaned forward to catch the frame, and frowned. The impact with the dojo floor had opened the back of the frame, and the orange-clad turtle could see the back of another picture inside.

"What's this?" He wondered aloud, taking the picture and turning it over.

"What's what?" His brother Raphael asked.

But Michelangelo had paled and was as motionless as a statue. Frowning, Raphael came closer to take a look at the picture. When he did, his mouth dropped and he clenched his fists, unable to speak.

Leonardo quickly joined them to see which picture was upsetting them so much, his own brothers right behind him.

When he looked at it, he felt his head spin.

The picture was an amateur photograph of four infant turtles huddled together.

"Looks like you had a Leo of your own after all," Leonardo's Michelangelo pointed out quite uselessly, his whisper echoing strangely in the deathly silence.

* * *

Raphael's mind was a storm of spinning thoughts.

_Four. We were four. We were four. Like them. How?_

When he finally raised his head, his eyes met with his father's. Splinter had been attracted by the eerie silence in the dojo and was now standing in the doorway of his own apartments. There was moisture in the corners of his eyes.

"Father?" Raphael finally uttered.

This made no sense. Had the one person he most trusted in the entire world been lying to him for years? Had he been deprived of the memory of a brother, of the right to mourn him?

He clenched his fists.

"What… what happened?" He demanded.

When he finally spoke, Splinter's voice was hoarse and strained. He had always known that this moment would come, but he had postponed it again and again. And now his sons had discovered the truth in the worst possible way.

"You were so young," he began. "There was a flood and he was carried away. I didn't manage to catch him in time. I searched for him for days, but it was to no avail. And I had to take care of you three, I couldn't…I had to keep going."

The ninja master wanted to tell his sons about the pain, the anger and the despair. He wanted to tell them of his guilt and his helplessness. Losing a son so soon after losing a daughter had almost destroyed him. But he had endured, out of sheer love for the three sons he still had.

He tried to explain that, but he couldn't find the right words. His sons' looks were crushing him. The hurt of betrayal in Raphael's eyes, the shock on Michelangelo's face.

"Why did you never tell us?" Raphael asked, his tone so cold that Splinter felt his heart break.

"At first, I had the foolish hope that he had survived," the rat father answered. "So I told you that he was simply on vacation. When I was convinced that… That there was no way he was still alive… You had stopped asking. You were mere infants, the three of you. When you grew up, you forgot about your lost brother. I never found the right moment to tell you about him, and for that, I am sorry."

Raphael shook his head. He didn't want to hear an apology. He had a last and important question to ask – even if he already knew the answer, he wanted to hear it from his father's mouth.

"And how did you call him?"

Splinter closed his eyes.

"Leonardo," he whispered. "It was his name."

The moment was broken by his son Donatello's voice. It sounded so wrong, so happy, as he came into the dojo.

"Guys! You have to take a look at what Leatherhead brought us, it's…"

Donatello abruptly shut up.

"Mikey, why are you crying? What…" Donatello's face fell as he noticed everyone's grave expressions. "What is happening here?"

"Ask your father," his Raphael spat while his Michelangelo wordlessly handed him the picture of the four infant turtles. "And listen to his pretenses, if you can."

With that, Raphael stomped out of the dojo. His brother Michelangelo's watery look went from him to Donatello, whose mouth had dropped in shock at the picture, as if he couldn't decide which brother to support first.

"We should give them some privacy," Leonardo whispered to his own brothers, who were grasping his shell since Splinter had mentioned his double's disappearance during a flood. The blue-clad turtle could feel their distress. It matched his own.

_But it's nothing compared to what the turtles of this world must be experiencing right now,_ he thought.

As he leaded his Raphael and Michelangelo out of the dojo, he automatically found his way to his Donatello.

He needed his three brothers around him right now. Always had, always would.

_Because we are meant to be four._

As these other turtles had been.


	29. Mending

Master Splinter was sitting cross-legged in the dojo. He felt the calming presence of the dojo tree behind his back. It usually helped him to meditate after a difficult day. However, it wasn't working today. The ninja master kept dwelling on the conversation he had had with his sons. He knew they were hurting right now, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it. They didn't want him to comfort them.

The giant rat forced himself to breathe deeply. Of course, he didn't resent them. They needed time to accept the truth. And he should have told them about their fourth brother sooner.

When he had told his story for the second time for Donatello's sake, his purple-clad son had seemed shocked, though not entirely surprised.

"I was wondering if something like that had happened," he had reluctantly admitted, "since Leonardo's brothers arrived and told us about the existence of other universes where there were always four turtles. I just didn't want to say it out loud, because then it would have become a real possibility. And I didn't want to consider that you lied to us."

Again, Splinter had said that he had never found the right moment to tell them, but Donatello had dismissed it.

"When the other Leonardo arrived in our world, that would have been the perfect time," he had pointed out.

Then he had left with Michelangelo, leaving Splinter alone in the dojo. Alone with his painful memories.

Splinter looked at the pictures in his lap. With his forefinger, he traced the outline of his baby girl Miwa and of his infant turtle Leonardo. Two children that were placed in his care. Two children that he had been unable to save.

A light cough made him raise his head. April was standing in the doorway, looking uneasy.

"Yes?" Splinter said, inviting her to enter.

"Donnie told me what happened. I… I just wanted to check if you were alright, I mean… I can feel that you're not, but I…" April bit her lip.

Splinter raised an eyebrow. He was touched by the girl's unexpected kindness.

"No, I am not alright," he answered quietly. "But maybe it is for the best. My sons know the truth now. I can only hope that they will find it in their hearts to forgive me."

The red-haired girl knelt in front of him. On an impulse, she took his furry hand.

"I know they will," she said wholeheartedly. "And if they don't realize by themselves how lucky they are to be with their father, I'll make them understand it. It is bad enough when someone prevents you to be with your family. It would be stupid to deliberately cut yourself apart from your loved ones. "

Despite himself, Splinter felt comforted by these heartfelt words.

 _That girl is really special,_ he thought.

"Thank you, April," he whispered to his young guest. "Yours is a kind soul."

* * *

The three turtles of this world were together in Michelangelo's room. Michelangelo was sniffing on his bed, while Donatello was hugging him. With sadness, the purple-clad turtle thought of all the times their roles had been reversed, when he was deep in his depression.

Raphael was pacing the room, unable to stop moving. He felt betrayed and he had no idea how to deal with this sharp pain in his heart. Besides, his thoughts kept going back to the four brothers of another universe.

 _We could have had what they have,_ he thought bitterly. He kicked an empty pizza box on the floor.

"I can't believe Father hid something this important from us," he finally exclaimed.

"I'm sure he did his best," Michelangelo answered in a small voice. "It… it must have been terrible for him."

Raphael kicked another empty pizza box. _When was the last time Mikey actually cleaned up his room?_ He wondered absent-mindedly.

"It's no excuse. We had a right to know," he replied.

"Agreed," Donatello sighed.

The three turtles looked at each other. They knew that nothing would be the same now, and they didn't know whether or not it was a good thing.

There was a knock at the door and the brothers tensed. They didn't want to talk to their father just now.

But it wasn't Splinter.

"Can we come in?" Leonardo's voice asked, and the three turtles of this world exchanged hesitant looks.

"Yes," Michelangelo finally decided, and his brothers didn't contradict him.

The door opened and the four turtles of another world entered the room. They sat on the floor. Seeing them move gracefully together, the Raphael of this world decided to sit next to his Michelangelo and awkwardly put an arm around his shoulders.

"You have been in there for the past few hours," Leonardo began hesitantly. "We… Is there anything we can do?"

The Raphael who wasn't his brother shrugged.

"No thanks, you have done more than enough," he answered.

"What do you mean?" His double asked, frowning.

Raphael averted his eyes. He knew that what he was feeling wasn't fair, but he couldn't help it.

"Go on, say it," Leonardo calmly pressed him.

The red-clad turtle bit his lip. He was squeezing his Michelangelo with a little too much strength, but the orange-clad turtle didn't complain.

"We were just fine without you," he finally burst. "But you came, and we witnessed what it would have been like to grow up being four. And as if it wasn't hard enough, now we know that we could have had that, too."

He felt his Donatello embrace him from Michelangelo's other side, and he closed his eyes.

"So sorry if we are bad company tonight. Our world kind of shattered."

Leonardo winced. He didn't blame Raphael, but the words stung. Had he really done more harm than good?

"I don't regret it," the Michelangelo from this world suddenly said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Me neither," his Donatello added quietly.

"I don't know how I feel about it," their Raphael admitted more calmly. "I will need time, I think."

Leonardo sighed.

"It's okay."

The Michelangelo who wasn't his brother was looking at him with pleading eyes. Leonardo tilted his head.

"Yes?"

"Uh, Leo," Michelangelo began hesitantly. "Do you think you could… I mean, just once, I would like to know how it feels to…hug? When you are four?"

Leonardo's eyes widened. He looked hesitantly at his own brothers, then at the turtles sitting on the bed. As the Donatello and Raphael from this world didn't protest, he stood up with grace and embraced the three of them, carefully avoiding further injuring his right arm. He felt them give in to the hug and he closed his eyes, giving them all the warmth and love and strength he could.

When he finally released them, Michelangelo was smiling.

"Thanks, Leo," he whispered.

* * *

April showed up a while later and Leonardo and his brothers left the three turtles of this world with her.

The blue-clad turtle decided that he had to talk to Splinter. Now that he knew what had happened with his double, he could only forgive his earlier behavior.

 _I'll make us some tea first,_ he thought.

He went to the kitchen and began boiling water. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned around to see his brother Michelangelo tiptoeing into the kitchen.

"Mikey?" Leonardo asked.

Michelangelo was playing with his fingers, his gaze set on the floor.

"What's wrong, brother?" The blue-clad turtle inquired gently.

"You're my brother," Michelangelo muttered sullenly.

Leonardo's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?"

"You're _my_ brother!" Michelangelo repeated, his lip quivering.

It took Leonardo several seconds to understand.

"Are you jealous because I comforted your double?" He asked with incredulity.

Michelangelo's response was a mere whisper. He still wasn't looking at his brother.

"You don't belong with them. You're coming home with us, right?"

"Mikey!"

Leonardo reached out and hugged his orange-clad brother with strength. He felt Michelangelo return the hug and heard him sniffle against his shoulder.

"Don't be silly," he whispered in his ear. "Of course I'm not leaving you guys."

Michelangelo sighed in relief.

"Okay, it was stupid. But you looked so close together."

For an answer, Leonardo tickled him. It wasn't long until Michelangelo burst out.

"I suppose I could share you with them a little while longer," the orange-clad turtle admitted when he had calmed down. "Just remember that you're not for sale."

Leonardo rolled his eyes.

"You're very generous. May I point out that the Mikey of this world didn't think twice before sharing his Leatherhead with you?"

Michelangelo smiled, back to his usual easy-going self.

"He's more like April's Leatherhead right now. But we're working on it."

* * *

When Splinter smelled the aroma of his favorite tea, he tilted his head towards the dojo's entrance and was surprised to see Leonardo standing there, silently awaiting his permission to enter.

The ninja master nodded, hiding his uneasiness. The blue-clad turtle entered quietly and knelt in front of him. He offered Splinter a teacup which the rat took with gratitude.

"Thank you," he said.

Leonardo smiled hesitantly.

 _He is as uneasy as I am_ , Splinter thought. With a pang, the ninja master realized that he was beginning to decipher Leonardo's body language. It was as if admitting the truth to his own sons had knocked down the wall he had erected between himself and the blue-clad turtle of another world.

"Maybe now you understand why I kept my distance from you," Splinter said softly, sipping his tea. Leonardo's tea was delicious, exactly how he liked it. "It was never meant to hurt you."

"I do understand," Leonardo answered. "And I'm sorry for disturbing your family's balance."

Splinter sighed.

"This was unavoidable. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

The ninja master met Leonardo's blue eyes.

"And thank you for bringing my sons home safely."

Leonardo bowed.

"You're welcome."

Splinter watched the teenager in front of him. Would his own son have resembled him, had he lived? Not only in body, but also in spirit? He felt his heart ache. He would never know.

Leonardo watched him in return.

"Would you rather be alone? I would understand if you did."

Splinter took a deep breath.

"No need to hurry," he answered. "We still have plenty of tea."

When Leonardo smiled at him brightly, the ninja master felt something beginning to heal deep inside of him.


	30. Goodbye

Leonardo's brother Donatello was working on the last details of a transdimensional portal.

The past few days had been full of emotion, especially since Splinter had revealed the truth about Leonardo's double, and Donatello couldn't wait to come home.

The purple-clad turtle didn't know what the April of this world had told their counterparts, but she had managed to get them to talk to their father. From what Leonardo's brother had heard from the kitchen, the father-and-sons conversation had involved a lot of shouting and tears, broken by long periods of silence.

Donatello sighed. He had been dying to hear what was whispered between the four members of that other family, and he had tried to spy on them. He had stealthily placed himself out of the dojo, near the entrance but carefully out of sight, with his ear leaning on the exact spot where the wall was thinner. He had even agreed with his brother Michelangelo – who was just as curious as he – that they would regularly trade places.

But Leonardo would have had none of it. The blue-clad turtle had very quietly but very efficiently grabbed his prying brothers by their bandana tails and dragged them to the kitchen to wait for the end of the storm.

Donatello blushed, remembering April's amused gaze. The red-haired girl reminded him of the April of his home world, and the purple-clad turtle was overwhelmed by homesickness. He felt out of place in this world. So many things were just exactly like they were at home, except for one tiny detail.

Like this lab, where projects that Donatello had also completed successfully in his own world adjoined works he had never started.

The purple-clad turtle screwed a last slab to his portal and wiped his forehead. They were lucky that Leatherhead had been regularly stealing pieces of Kraang technology. It had made their work easier.

The Donatello of this world had been a precious ally in building the portal in a record time. And as both purple-clad turtles had discovered, time was of the essence.

"Are you ready?" A voice asked from behind, and Donatello turned around to greet his brother Leonardo, whose arm had completely healed.

"Yes," the purple-clad turtle nodded. "The portal is complete. We can leave as soon as we say goodbye."

Leonardo hesitated.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken in your calculations?"

Donatello frowned and Leonardo backed off.

"Or in their interpretation? We need to be sure. I feel guilty about leaving them so soon."

Donatello knew whom his brother referred to. The Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo of this world. With Splinter's blessing, Leonardo had spent a lot of time training them in the past few days. The three brothers were slowly getting accustomed to the idea of fighting together. Leonardo's brothers' exhibitions of talent had helped in that.

And of course, Stockman was still on the loose. It was a powerful motivation.

Leonardo's purple-clad brother shook his head.

"We are sure. Our two universes have always been especially intricate and time used to pass the same way in both. But April's intervention changed that. Now time is passing faster in our universe, and it's still not stabilized."

Donatello glared at his blue-clad brother, slightly offended.

"Do you want to review our reasoning? Every detail is in there," he added, indicating an impressive pile of papers on the desk. Each paper was covered in the tiny script of two Donatello.

Leonardo glanced on the floor, literally covered with crumpled drafts.

"No, thanks," he answered sheepishly, offering his brother an apologetic smile. He was absolutely unable to understand what was written in there, which Donatello perfectly knew. Leonardo was impressed at how the two geniuses had managed to pick up small hints and pieces of information and gathered them into a meaningful theory. However, he didn't like the result at all.

"Leo, when we will come back, at least an entire month will have passed," Donatello insisted. "Do you really want to make Sensei wait for us longer? Or April, or Casey?"

Leonardo sighed.

"Of course not. You're right."

The blue-clad turtle hesitated for a few seconds, as if he was going to add something, but he thought better of it and turned round.

"I'll fetch the others," Leonardo said, leaving the lab.

* * *

The Michelangelo of this world hated farewells. He hid in his room until the last possible moment. When he could no longer postpone it, he grudgingly dragged himself along to Donatello's lab and took place between his brothers while everyone exchanged goodbyes.

He didn't want to cry, but he couldn't help it when Leonardo hugged him one last time.

"I'll never forget about you," he whispered to him.

"Me neither, Mikey," Leonardo whispered back. "Take care of yourself."

The Raphael of this world grumbled. This display of emotion made him uneasy. He had already bidden his farewells to the four turtles of another world. It had been the occasion of one last wrestling session with his double, in the dojo this time. It was a better place than the living room for that purpose. Less cleaning-up to do afterwards.

When his turn came, the Donatello of this world smiled at Leonardo.

"Thanks for helping me to rescue April," he said. "And her dad, of course," he quickly added when the red-haired girl glared at him. "And thanks for giving me the occasion to work on alien technology with someone who understands interdimensional relativity equations," he finished, winking at his double.

When there was nothing more to say and no one left to hug, Leonardo's brothers linked hands. Donatello was first, dialing something on the portal's control panel. A purple light filled the metal frame. Michelangelo was between him and Raphael, smiling a last time at his double who had taken refuge on Leatherhead's leather head.

Leonardo bowed to Splinter and smiled a last time at the three turtles of this world, at April and his father, at Leatherhead and Casey.

Then he seized his Raphael's free hand, completing the turtle chain, and the four brothers jumped through the portal.

* * *

When the light turned off, the three turtles remaining in their world looked at each other.

"Do you think we will see them again?" Michelangelo asked melancholically.

"It's unlikely, Mikey," Donatello answered softly. "Besides, now that they are back to their world, they will age faster than us. And I can't tell how much faster – our model is chaotic and doesn't allow long-term predictions."

There was a heavy silence in the room.

"What comes next?" Raphael asked grudgingly.

"We keep going," Donatello told them with determination. "Stockman will want to get revenge. He will certainly try to kidnap April and Kirby O'Neil again."

"He can always try," Leatherhead growled, while Kirby hugged his daughter tightly.

"They are welcome to stay here, right Sensei?" Michelangelo asked hesitantly.

Splinter sighed. His relationship with his sons was still strained, but they had begun to figure things out.

"Of course, my son. April and Mr. O' Neil are our guests for as long as it will be needed."

"Don't forget the aliens," Raphael added. "Which, by the way, I haven't seen yet."

Michelangelo jumped from the alligator's head and put an arm around his red-clad brother's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Raph. I'm sure you will have this pleasure soon."

April sighed. She had had a long talk with Leonardo the night before, and he had warned her about the Kraang. In his world, he had said, the slimy brains had wanted her badly.

She watched the new people surrounding her. She was going to miss the blue-clad turtle, but she had so much to learn and discover. She glanced at Donatello and Casey Jones. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to get bored here.


	31. Epilogue

Leonardo and his brothers landed in Donatello's lab, in the glorious glow of the Kraang communication orb. As soon as they were on the ground, Donatello grasped the orb and used his newly-gained knowledge to completely deactivate it.

Then he hurried to his computer to check the date, his brothers on his heels.

Seeing the figures displaying on the screen, the four turtles sighed collectively in relief.

"Exactly a month," Donatello said. "We're lucky, it was the best-case scenario."

"Guys?" April's voice was heavy with concern. "Are you here?"

The red-haired kunoichi ran to the lab.

"Leo! You're back too!" She exclaimed before throwing herself into the blue-clad turtle's arms.

Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo hurried to join the hug, and April laughed.

"I was going crazy with worry! Where have you been this time?" She scolded.

"It's a long story," Leonardo answered her. "But first… Where is Master Splinter?"

"I'm right here, my son," his father answered from the entrance of the lab.

"Father," Leonardo said, his mouth dry.

Before he realized that he had moved, he found himself burying his face in his father's robes, embracing him fiercely.

"Thank you."

Surprised, Splinter returned the embrace, his furry hands encircling his son's body.

"For what, Leonardo?"

"For looking after all of us," Leonardo answered, his voice hoarse.

He suddenly felt his brothers' and April's weight on his shell, and he laughed as they all collapsed to the floor, Splinter skillfully sliding to the side so he wouldn't be crushed while still holding Leonardo close. Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo crawled to embrace the giant rat too.

"My sons," Splinter sighed with contentment. "I'm so happy to see you again."

Then he playfully frowned.

"But April is right. _Where_ have you been this time?"

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Tokyo of the universe that Leonardo and his brothers had just left, a young girl dressed in a metallic armor was whispering to a blind cook in front of a noodle shop. Due to the untimely hour, it was closed.

"Please, Murakami-san. My father and I are leaving Japan. He heard rumors that something huge is happening in New York and he wants to investigate. I came to say goodbye."

The blind cook sighed. He couldn't resist her pleading tone. Besides, if what she had just said was true – he couldn't be sure of it, that girl was a good liar - it would have been plain cruel to deny her.

"You are always welcome in my home, Karai," he whispered back before letting her in. "But I don't appreciate my son hanging out with your friends. They are a bad influence on him."

"I know, Murakami-san," Karai answered with her most convincing apologetic tone. "I'm really sorry about last time."

She entered the shop plunged into darkness and rolled her eyes. True, the blind cook didn't need the light and his son was rather avoiding it, but they could at least leave a few candles.

She suddenly spun, sensing a familiar presence in the room.

"Hi, Karai. I'm glad my father let you in. Does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

Karai smiled in the direction of the familiar voice. Using the moonlight coming from the door that Murakami hadn't closed yet, she tried to discern the outline of her closest friend. She had never been bothered by the fact that he wasn't human.

"Hello, Leonardo," she answered softly. "I'm afraid not, but I have something important to tell you."

**The End**


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